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J NaT \ s ". 







Qass 

Book 



WALTER R. STEINER 
COLLECTION 




THE LATE HONORABLE PAUL ISENBERG TO WHOSE MEMORY "THE MASTER 
PLANTER" WAS DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. 



The Ma^er Planter 

or 

Life in the Cane 
Fields of Hawaii 



By 
JAMES W. GIRVIN 



WITH NOTES BY 
LEVERETT H. MESICK 



HONOLULU. HAWAII: 

PRESS OF THE HAWAIIAN GAZETTE CO., LTD. 

I9I0 






BEQUEST OF 

on. WALTER H, STEIIUgD 

JAN. 20, IMS 



COPYRrGHT 1910 
By The Hawaiian Gazette Company 

LIMITED 



CONTENTS. 



t- 



PAGE 

Dedication vii 

Posthumous (Introduction) ........ jx 

CHAPTER. 

L A New Home in a New Country, and the Introduction 

of the Hero ....... I 

II. California in "The Days of Old, the Days of Gold, the 

Days of Forty-Nine" ...... 5 

^ III. San Francisco, Like Rome, Sits Proudly Upon Her 

Hills 8 

IV. Off for the Islands — Sight of Diamond Head Compensates 

for an Uncomfortable Voyage . . . . il 
V. Honolulu as it was in Days of Yore — Grass Houses and 
O Many Things That Would be Curios Now . . 15 

VI. "Kansas" is Busy Investigating the Business Possibilities 
^^—X — Lively Times in the Days of the Whaler Man . 19 

<V-* VII. Honolulu and the Churches of the Old Days — Our Hero 

Again at Sea, but Alone 24 

VIII. Lahaina, the Former Capital of the Kingdom — Mbre Dis- 
couragements for the Man From Kansas . . 27 
IX. lao, the Yosemite of the Islands — Derivation of the 
Hawaiian Word for Law — Wailuku and its Defini- 
tion 33 

X. At Wailuku "Kansas" is Advised to "Keep on Trying" 

in Spite of the Disheartening Outlook . . 36 
XI. The Missionaries Had Trouble too — Our Hero Has 

Work at Last, but as "Shipped Man" ... 38 
X XII. Sociability on the Plantation and at Church — "And He 

1 > Proves to be a Jewel" — "Kansas" Making Headway 46 

XIII. Some Interesting Details of Plantation Work — The En- 
: trancing Haleakala Trip and What it Reveals . 51 



111 



IV 



Co7iients. 



PAGE 

XIV. Phases of Plantation Life — Native Language and Lore — 
Native Divisions of Land — Dyestuffs Used by the 
Plawaiians 58 

XV. More Hawaiian Lore — Land Tenure — Tabu System — Pri- 
mitive Tools and Patient Labor — Where Fell the 
Chivalry of Hawaii ...... 63 

XVL The Hawaiians : Whence Came They and the Flora of 
Their Islands ? — Their Knowledge of Medicine and 
Surgery 68 

XVII. Hawaiian Hospitality and Customs — Pageantry of a 

Royal Tour Around the Island of Oahu . . 72 

XVIII. The Transformation of "Kansas" — From "Shipped Man" 

to Plantation Manager in Eleven Months . . 85 

XIX. Hawaii Leads the World in Scientific Sugar Cane Cul- 
tivation ........ 89 

XX. The New Manager Makes Innovations that Startle the 

Silurians ........ 95 

XXI. Treating of the One-Time Contract Labor Conditions on 

the Sugar Plantations ..... 98 

XXII. Our Hero Has a Name at Last — and an Old-Time Friend 

Appears with Abundant Capital .... 102 

XXIII. Madam Takes a Native Maiden Into Her Household, 

and Has an Interesting Character Study . . 107 

XXIV. Madam Interests Herself in the Natives, and Learns 

Many of Their Peculiarities . . . .110 
XXV. The Flappy Marriage of Kamaka Is Followed by, Alas, a 

Too Frequent Sequel — Piquancy of Native Cooking 112 
XXVI. Mrs. Breed Learns How to Prepare and Preserve the 

Many Delicious Native Fruits . . . .116 
XXVII. Madam Embellishes Her Home With Native Curios that 

Attract the Charmed Attention of Visitors . . 120 
XXVIII. The Once Obscure "Kansas" Becomes Owner and 

Manager of an Immense Sugar Estate . . 123 

XXIX. Capital and Labor as Yokefellows — A Cooperative 

Scheme that Worked — Christ Quoted . . . 126 
XXX. Fascinaiing Small Farming Applied to a Big Plantation — 

Wheat, Corn, Potatoes, Butter, Chickens, Honey . 129 



Contents' v 

PAGE 

XXXI. "And of All That Thou Shalt Give Me I Will Surely 

Give the Tenth Unto Thee." — Gen. 28:22 . . 131 

XXXII. The Baleful Effects of Alcohol on the Native— The 011a 

a Temperance Aid ...... 135 

XXXIII. The Telephone Publicly Used on Maui Before It Became 

General in the United States .... 138 

XXXIV. The Primal Curse Applied to Cane Culture — Manufac- 

turing and Marketing the Sugar .... 140 

XXXV. Native Labor Becoming Scarce, Experiments With Many 

Peoples Were Made — A Political Review . . 144 
XXXVI. The Chinese and Their Relation to Hawaii — Vices and 

Virtues of This People ..... 148 

XXXVII. A Resume of the History of the Hawaiian Islands — 

From the Rise to the Fall of the Monarchy . . 151 
XXXVIII. Our Hero in Review Again — Experiments With Elec- 
tricity — Mention of Noble Men and Women of 
Hawaii ........ 155 

XXXIX. The Silver Wedding of the Breeds Was Celebrated by 

a Luau and Hookupu of Grand Proportions . . 159 
XL. The Hawaiian Language — Its Lack of Harsh Consonants 

Makes It Easily Adaptable to Music . . . 165 
XLI. The Education of Children in the Hawaiian Islands — 

An Original Perplexing Question Well Solved . 170 
XLII. Religion of the Early Hawaiians and Why the People 
Were Ready to Receive Christianity — Evidence of 
Early Civilization ...... 178 

XLIII. Debasement and Decimation of Hawaiians Due to White 

Refuse of Civilization Who Preceded Missionaries 180 
XLIV. Life in Hawaii and What It Stands for to People Who 

Call the Islands "Home" ..... 183 

XLV. Metal Being Unknown to the Ancient Hawaiians, the 

Art of Weaving Entered Into Their Every Utility 191 
XLVI. A Brief History of the Sugar Industry of the Hawaiian 

Islands — Sugar Cane Indigenous to the Soil . . 194 



L'Envoi 



197 



DEDICATION. 



This book is most respectfully dedicated to the memory of the 
late Honorable Paul Isenberg, 

A man who rose from the ranks in the cultivation of sugar on 
the Hawaiian Islands. A man whose broad sympathies reached 
out to the laborer of every nationality, and whose hand was always 
open to assist any one in distress. A man for whom the Ha- 
waiians had the greatest respect and veneration, and who did 
much for their advancement by his example, assistance and advice. 
A man of that Teutonic race which will eventually dominate the 
globe from its inherent love of and maintenance of the purity of 
their homes and their observance of the Sabbath day. 

The Author. 



POSTHUMOUS. 



In the year 1906, Mr. James W. Girvin was Librarian for 
the Hawaiian Gazette Company. Through my connection 
with the same company, I became well acquainted with Mr. 
Girvin, and he unfolded to me, at divers times, a mind stored 
brimful of useful knowledge. Any leisure moment I had I 
considered well spent in converse with him, especially upon 
affairs Hawaiian, of which he was a veritable walking en- 
cyclopedia. At that time he was working on the closing 
chapters of "The Master Planter," and through our intimacy 
I learned much of his ideas and aims in regard to the book ; 
and evidently won his confidence, for he submitted the manu- 
script to me for criticism and correction from a typographical 
standpoint. 

The press work upon the book was well under way at the 
time of Mr. Girvin's accidental death from drowning on the 
11th of December, 1906. Of course, the work came to a 
sudden standstill then. Later it was decided to publish the 
book, following Mr. Girvin's known ideas in regard to it as 
closely as possible — and a large package of proofsheets and 
manuscript, just as Mr. Girvin had left it, was entrusted to 
me for disentanglement and comipletion. I found the closing 
words had not been written, or if written were not found — 
so I have supplied them. 

A surprisingly large number of books have been published 
with something Hawaiian for subject matter — generally in- 
dicative of a wide-spread romantic interest in these "Isles 
of the Blest." Mr. Girvin's "The Master Planter," on the 

ix 



X Posthumous. 

contrary, may be regarded as an antonym to romantic — exact, 
historical, unadorned. 

It seems almost incredible that so much information could 
be crowded into a given space as appears in this book, and 
the continuity of the plot not be irreparably broken. In 
breaking the story up into chapters and giving them head- 
lines, I am aware that limp justice has been done, for a single 
caption could not vvrell cover more than a single paragraph 
in many cases — as one umibrella makes a miserable mess of 
covering more than one person in a rainstorm. The story in 
its entirety strikes me as a delightful pot-pourri, some new 
fragrance being encountered at almost every turn. There is 
something in the story for everyone. It is an encyclopedia 
of things Hawaiian ; cross-indexed it would be almost in- 
valuable as a hand-book of Hawaii. 

The hero of the story is a composite character, exemplify- 
ing the sterling worth of the pioneers to Hawaii, who made 
of it the most advanced cane sugar producing country in 
the world. Mr. Girvin made the story of "The Master 
Planter" the vehicle for conveying to the public a great fund 
of useful information that he had gathered in many years of 
keen observation. The dedication is his. 

A composite character — yes, but the trait given to "Kan- 
sas" of acquiring so much diversified knowledge of the peo- 
ple and the country, will very well fit the author himself. 

Nearly four years have elapsed since Mr. Girvin's death, 
and in that space of tim^e kaleidoscopic changes have taken 
place in affairs Hawaiian. Ordinarily, a book written four 
or more years ago about Hawaii would need rewriting now. 
Not so with "The Master Planter," however; its statements 
remain facts, and will have the same abiding value as has a 
standard encyclopedia. 

Leverett H. Mesick. 

Honolulu, 1910. 




THE LATE JAMES W. GIRVIN, AUTHOR. 



THE MASTER PLANTER 



CHAPTER I 

A NEW HOME IN A NEW COUNTRY, AND THE INTRODUCTION OF 

THE HERO. 

AWAY back in the early sixties, in a little cabin in one of the 
ravines leading- into Grass Valley, Nevada County, Cali- 
fornia, there lived a small family, the history of the head 
of which it is the intention to relate in the following chapters. 

^ Our hero had come from Kansas, and the miners, addicted to 
giving nicknames, had dubbed him "Kansas" from his hailing 
from that State ; but in reality he had lived there only five years, 
having emigrated from the northern part of the State of New 
York. He was a tall, dark-whiskered man of thoughtful mien 
and reflective mood, while his wife was a sprightlv little lady 
of a most cheerful disposition. The young couple ^had a child 
born to them in Wichita, but the little girl sickened and died, 
and the parents felt that Kansas could no longer be home to 
them, so they turned their faces westward. They had accumu- 
lated a little sum of money, and could have done well enough but 
for the spirit of unrest which took possession of them afte^ "the 
light of the household" had gone out. They had a friend in 
Grass Valley whose glowing description of California, and 
especially of that region, determined them to cast in their fortunes 
and grow up with the State. 

After a long and weary journey from the end of the then 
imcompleted railroad they arrived at their goal. Their friend 
was not to be found, he having drifted after the ignis-fatuics of 
rich reports in a distant field, as so many of the miners did. The 
surrounding country pleased them, and at this season was covered 
with innumerable species of wild flowers such as they had never 
seen in the east. Although an horticulturist by study and pro- 
fession he saw colors such as he had never seen before. Brown, 



2 The Master Planter; or 

green, and drab lilies growing wild, yuccas ten feet high covered 
with a cloud of iridescent bells, flowers whose brilliancy could 
be matched nowhere on this mundane sphere, and the whole sur- 
face of the undulating country clothed with a carpet of small 
flowers to even name which would require chapters. The cli- 
mate was invigorating and the scenery grand beyond description. 
They decided to settle there. His occupation had been that of 
gardener, and he quickly determined that there was more money 
to be made in supplying the various neighboring mining camps 
with vegetables than in gold digging, and the income would be 
more certain. 

An old man who had acquired a large tract of land was pleased 
to give him as much as he would cultivate for a nominal share of 
the products. A rough little shanty, abutting a ridge, went with 
the claim and was to be their future home. It was sheltered 
beneath the umbrageous branches of one of the grand old live- 
oaks which dotted the plain and hillsides. Here the young 
couple proceeded to make their home with as much cheerfulness 
and unanimity as the birds which built their nests amidst the 
leaves of the perennial tree which covered them. Little by little 
they gathered around them the necessities of life and for home 
comfort. Women were comparatively scarce in that part, and 
many of the miners made a detour from the highway, nominally 
to ask for a drink of water, but in reality to see the little bird- 
nest with the Eastern robin in it. 

Quite a number of the miners succeeded in obtaining the privi- 
lege of taking their meals at Madam's table, for which they gladly 
paid fifty per cent, more than they could have lived for at the mill 
boarding house. During the summer the table was spread under 
the shelter of the shady live-oak branches, and by winter a fine 
commodious addition had been added to the house. The home- 
made bread, butter, and buttermilk were luxuries to be had no- 
where else, and the refining influence of a good woman was ap- 
preciated by those who were permitted to enroll themselves as of 
"Kansas's" household. His cows, chickens, eggs and garden- 
truck had a market limited only by the supply he was able to 
produce. He found the soil to be excellent, and that everything 
planted produced abundantly. By hauling some of the pulver- 
ized tailings from the mill and spreading it on the adobe soil he 
supplied to that clay its corrective, and the yield of beets, onions, 
potatoes and vegetables was something marvelous. Some of his 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 3 

mangel wurtzel beets, planted for cow feed, weighed more than 
150 lbs., and pumpkins grew so thickly that it was possible to 
walk over a field by stepping from one pumpkin to another. 

There were some drawbacks, however, in the form of vermin. 
The air teemed with birds and insects and the ground had its 
myriads of gophers and squirrels, while from the plain came up 
the cotton-tail and the jack- rabbit to devour anything green. His 
strawberries, raspberries and other small fruit were preyed upon 
by the quail, catbirds and others, whilst his melons were sought 
after by badgers and other quadrupeds. Deer frequently came 
down at night and revelled in his corn and cereals. 

Game was plentiful, and grizzly and brown bear threat- 
ened not only to decimate his pig-pen and calf-yard and honey- 
stands, but to make life a burden. Indians straggling through 
the country frightened Madam, but were harmless. The table 
was rarely without venison, quail, pheasant or other game. The 
miners united with "Kansas" in pursuing the bears, mountain 
lions and fur-bearing ferae, and they became somewhat scarcer. 
]\Iadam was sorry sometimes to see the song birds destroyed, but 
self protection is the first law of nature. In the early mornings, 
and at even, the air would be redolent with harmony from in- 
numerable meadow larks and thrushes. Every bush in the chap- 
paral on the hillsides had its colony of bird life. 

The long table out of doors was frequently surrounded with 
men, who, judged by their rough appearance, were Ali Baba's 
forty thieves, while from their conversation, which was extremely 
edifying, their antecedents could be discerned. Naturally, from 
their occupation as miners, geology and the origin and formation 
of the globe was frequently the theme of debate and conjecture. 
Still there was no subject which was not discussed. Sometimes 
politics was introduced, to the disgust of Madam, as that subject 
led to wrangles from which neither edification nor profit was to 
be obtained. The men were from different parts of the East and 
naturally disagreed. Some were Southerners, one of them hav- 
ing brought two slaves with him who were regularly paying him 
their wages on a promise of emancipation on receipt of the cost of 
bringing them out and to their value as estimated at home. 

"Kansas" had been one of th'^ radicals in his late place of resi- 
dence, and it is well understood that in the State of Kansas there 
is to be found no one who does not take an active interest in 
everything pertaining to politics. The throes at the birth of that 



The Master Planter. 



State had threatened to dismember the Union, and the war which 
was then raging was considered one of the outcomes of it. 
Madam ahnost decided to discontinue keeping boarders, and 
eventually succeeded in reducing the number to a few who could 
control themselves in the heat of political debate. Their Chinese 
cook and laborers appeared to be thoroughly at home in this 
strange land, and when Madam undertook to give them lessons in 
English on Sunday afternoons she had a class which appreciated 
her kindness. 



CHAPTER II 

CALIFORNIA IN "XHE DAYS OF OLD, THE DAYS OF GOLD, THE DAYS 
OF FORTY-NINE." 

CALIFORNIA, covering ten degrees of latitude, has surprised 
the people of the United States not only in its mineral re- 
sources, but in the fertility of its soil and the exuberance 
of thought of its inhabitants. Within those ten degrees of lati- 
tude, which by the way have proven in the Old World to have 
contained the cradle of the human race, and today hold the ruins 
of the world's earliest civilization, can be found a greater variety 
of the fauna and flora of the globe than in any other part. 

The appreciation which the early settlers had of its marvelous 
climate, scenery and possibilities was indelibly stamped on it by 
the manner in which they named different localities. We find 
Paradise, Banner, Golden Gate, Silver City, Loveland, Wood- 
land, Greenville, Bloody Gulch, Dead Horse, Grizzly Flat, 
Antioch, Acme, etc., etc., and the earlier Spanish settlers used up 
the whole calendar of Saints in naming the diflferent points and 
localities in this great State, and finally in despair at the paucity 
of the calendar dubbed a bay Todos Santos (all Saints). Rough 
men, made hardier still through their contact with the Plutonic 
rocks from which they obtained the auriferous metals, named 
many places in accord with some obstacle which attracted their 
attention, as Whiskeyville, Dead Man's Gulch, Eureka, Sacra- 
mento, etc. 

Drawn thither by the prospect of acquiring speedy wealth 
from mining, people of all grades of intellectual culture and from 
every nation under the sun can be found. It was a common 
thing to find men who could speak many languages as well as 
men who were conversant with the classics. Although a little 
book of fifty-two leaves was the most common, the man who 
found his intellectual treat in the Bible, Shakespeare, Horace, 
Virgil, or some of the scientific works was freely met with. All 
appeared equally rough, and it was only on close inspection that 
the diamond was discovered. Rough in appearance, wild in 



6 The Master Planter ; or 

action, and coming from different parts of the States and of the 
world, still men of similar thought and inclinations naturally 
drifted together, as the magnet will draw particles of iron from 
sand made up of grains of disintegrated rocks of every class. 

Men of ever}^ profession and trade made up the army which 
crossed the plains in search for gold. Amongst them there natur- 
ally predominated those who had followed farming or manual 
labor. These were observant of the natural facility of the soil 
to produce crops, and also of the ready market for the products. 
The claims made by the Spaniards prevented much of the land 
from being acquired by these agriculturists, but little by little 
many little holdings were acquired and small orchards and gar- 
dens began to be cultivated. 

Our hero's small ranch appeared like an oasis in a desert, for 
California in the dry season has a most desolate and burnt-up 
appearance. He had brought out a small stream from the canon 
(or canyon) above the premises, and all shrubbery and trees as 
well as the vegetables planted by him throve remarkably from the 
supplied water. 

"Kansas" had excavated a cellar into the hillside, against which 
the house abutted, and had put down a drive well therein from 
which a deliciously pure water was obtained. Having procured 
an olla, one of those earthern vessels which the Spaniards had 
introduced into the country, and which the Indians made from 
clay and carried about for sale, and which on account of its 
porosity materially aided in cooling the water, he hung it to a 
limb of the live-oak. Thirsty travelers from all directions de- 
bouched from the main road to get a drink of this cooling water, 
and gradually the place became so central that when necessity 
for establishing a postoffice was felt, "Kansas" station was fixed 
upon as the most convenient for the miners in that whole region. 

Our young couple prospered in every way, and not only made 
money from their own exertions, but, having grub-staked several 
prospectors, "Kansas" was fortunate in being able to sell out of 
several claims to good advantage. The healthiness of the climate 
was remarked, and they had enjoyed life as much as could be ex- 
pected from the isolation Madam was compelled to endure. To 
make money alone was not the height of their ambition, and 
"Kansas" did not feel that it was justice to his wife to seclude 
her in a mountain camp. After four years residence in Grass 
Valley he determined to move to San Francisco. During their 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haivaii. 



residence in the mountains a boy and a girl had been born to 
them, which materially added to the mother's cares. He had 
acquired the quarter section, which he first rented from the old 
ranch owner, and now disposed of his holdings and the fine site 
for a good round sum. His intention was to either establish 
himself as a florist in San Francisco or engage as a scenic gar- 
dener with some of the wealthy nabobs of that metropolis. 



CHAPTER III 

SAN FRANCISCO, LIKE ROME, SITS PROUDLY UPON HER HILLS.* 

* ' T/' ANSAS" had made a study of the science of agriculture 
JX from the best works to be obtained, and was thoroughly 
familiar with the requisities of different soils in the mat- 
ter of correctives, manures, and fertilizers. Being farmer-born 
he appreciated the lectures at the agricultural college he had at- 
tended, and during his practice of several years in Kansas and in 
California he had the opportunity of testing many of the teach- 
ings he had received and also of watching his own experiments. 
He knew that for the best results from planting it was as neces- 
sary that plants should have their proper plant food as that ani- 
mals should have food that would digest. Also, that it was as 
requisite that this food should have reached its correct stage of 
fermentation to promote assimilation before being absorbed by 
the rootlets of the various plant-life. 

Being somewhat of an artist and designer, he had drawn many 
plans of flower gardens adapted to the embellishment of homes of 
lovers of beauty in that line. Some of the colored designs which 
his portfolio contained were models of carpet gardening, laby- 
rinthine walks bordered with vari-colored plants, which enclosed 
beds of brilliant flowers. Many happy hours he and his wife 
spent in designing parterres of beautiful flowers, grasses, border 
plants, etc. This was done as much for pastime as to have on 
hand a collection of designs or patterns as guides in selecting the 
most appropriate for dififerent situations. One of his ambitions 
was to obtain the supervisorship of some large grounds where, 
with a free hand, he might make a showing of what esthetic cul- 

* She "sat," for a large part of the city of San Francisco, including 
practically all of the business portion, was destroyed by earthquake and 
fire following it on the 18th and 19th of April, 1906. A monetary loss 
of $400,000,000 was caused; and many human lives were lost, the exact 
number will never be known. Phcenix-like the city has risen from its 
ashes, and now, 1910, in about four and one-half years after its destruc- 
tion, is better built than the old city was. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 9 

ture could effect. He did not overlook the immense market 
which the love of the masses for cut flowers and potted plants af- 
forded, but kept that in the background, as it were, as a matter 
of secondary consideration. 

Arrived in San Francisco he proceeded to endeavor to enlist 
some of the wealthy property owners in a scheme to ornament 
their homes, he to undertake the supervision of a number of such. 
He recognized the natural possibilities of the city, on account of 
its being built on many hills, for ornamental gardening. Al- 
though the soil of the sand dunes of the whole peninsula on 
which the city was built was poor, that was a matter which might 
easily be corrected ; and the lay of the land was much better for 
scenic effect than would be that of a level country. After meet- 
ing many of the property holders and showing them his plans he 
found, and was surprised at it, that so few cared for the matter, 
and all were satisfied with such slight improvements as their 
wives might make. A few gave him encouragement, and thought 
such a scheme of cooperating in maintaining a trained gardener 
as somewhat in advance of the present system, — but there were 
not enough to warrant his undertaking the work. 

He abandoned the idea, and turned his attention to establishing 
a garden, one of the New Jersey style of florists' gardens, wherein 
he could raise flowers and potted plants for sale. On looking 
into this field, however, he found that it was pretty well worked 
and the city fairly supplied. Real estate and rents were high 
and he could not locate himself. Turning his attention to the 
humble yet lucrative work of raising vegetables for the market, 
he found this was very largely done by Italians on the outskirts 
of the city as well as by farmers on the Sacramento and San 
Joaquin rivers, great quantities coming in by steamers every 
morning. Without much capital he knew he could not compete 
in supplying the city markets, and he would be again burying his 
wife in the country. 

He then turned his attention to other means of providing for 
his family, and in his peregrinations became quite familiar with 
the geography of the city and its environments. He tramped 
over Russ Hill, viewed the city from Telegraph Hill and Black 
Point, and made the tour of the Presidio and Fort Point. No 
observing person can survey San Francisco and its noble bay 
and fine waterways without arriving at the conclusion that it will 
be the theatre of an immense commercial future. Looking at it 



10 The Master Planter. 

from an artistic standpoint, there is no part of the world that is 
more beautiful. From Telegraph Hill, as the observer turns on 
a pivot, the vista, on a clear day, is truly magnificent. 

Apparently the atmosphere of central California is as pure as 
in any region on the face of the globe, for the eye can discern 
points at great distances. San Francisco has been endowed with 
many advantages, and if man will only make use of them it will 
assuredly be the center of commerce which will control the trade 
of the countries which border on the Pacific. The great fresh- 
water ways flowing towards it will force on her the wealth of the 
immense agricultural provinces watered by them. The great num- 
bers of men who were attracted to the State by the discovery of 
gold, were largely composed of men from the rural walks of life. 
These quickly discerned the great wealth the State had in her 
agricultural lands, and soon abandoned the search for the auri- 
ferous metals. 

Many of the large Spanish grants were subdivided and the 
cattle driven ofif, and the lands turned into orchards, vineyards 
and farms. In early days most of the foodstuffs was brought 
around the Horn, or from Chili, or the islands of the Pacific. In 
a few years the Eastern immigrants had fQodstuffs to export, and 
agriculture began to vie with mining for the first place. 

Grand as was the outlook for the future city, our hero tried in 
vain to place himself. In his travels or tramps along the water- 
front he frequently saw vessels discharging cargoes of sugar and 
molasses, and tropical fruits, from the Sandwich Islands, and 
talked with the officers about the prospects there for a working 
man. Although he received but little encouragement from them, 
he concluded that a country which produced such large quantities 
of sugar might be made to yield a living, at least, to a couple who 
were willing to work. 

He and his wife made as much of a study of the Islands as 
was possible from the few descriptive works on Hawaii to be 
found in the public libraries, and decided to go there and try their 
fortunes. It was a leap in the dark, but they had ample means 
to return if the country should not prove satisfactory. 



CHAPTER IV 



OFF FOR THE ISLANDS — SIGHT OF DIAMOND HEAD COMPENSATES 
FOR AN UNCOMFORTABLE VOYAGE. 

TO save their little hoard they resolved to economize in every 
way, and to that end engaged passage in the steerage on 
a small bark which made regular trips to the port of Hono- 
lulu. They had never traveled on the sea before, and looked for- 
ward to the trip as to a picnic when one camps out for a season. 
They laid in a little stock of provisions and comforts, and took 
up their quarters on board the evening before the vessel was to 
sail. Early in the morning the vessel was towed to sea, and aftei* 
the bar was crossed they began to realize the immensity of the 
ocean. Their quarters were rude and uncomfortable ; it was cold 
and miserable, and, to add to the discomfort, all four were 
wretchedly seasick. The great strong man seemed to be the most 
affected, and could not help his family. Fortunately, a kindly 
lady in the cabin, who was an islander, a daughter of a mission- 
ary, and a good sailor, had noticed the children and devoted her- 
self to their comfort. 

For three days the sky was overcast, and alternate showers and 
squalls added to the wretchedness of the voyage. Many a time, 
during those three days, did the miserable couple wish they were 
back on terra firma. Then came the genial weather and sun- 
shine, together with the trade winds, and they began to feel better 
and enjoy the trip, and help themselves. They began to really 
enjoy the voyage, and sitting on deck they learned very much of 
the islands from those who were returning residents. Not hav- 
ing had the opportunity in San Francisco of meeting islanders, 
their information was indeed very meager. From the mission- 
ary lady they heard much of the hardships of the early mission, 
and of the success in converting the natives to Christianity. Also 
of the ravages caused to the aboriginal population by the intro- 
duction of disease and rum by sailors. Much also of the char- 
acter of the natives, and of their innate hospitable reception of 
aliens from any land. 



12 The Master Planter ; or 

From the stories told, a very good impression of the natives 
was obtained. "Kansas" became quite intimate with a man who 
had passed several years on the islands, and who described the 
cultivation of sugar and told of the opportunities for investments. 
It appeared that only a large capital would warrant any one in 
going into that industry, and from his remarks it appeared, also, 
there was no other that a white man could make a success at. 

When fifteen days out, the island of Maui was sighted, the cap- 
tain saying that the mountain thereon, Haleakala, was ten thou- 
sand feet high, and visible from a great distance. Sailing along 
they passed the island of Molokai, and had a fine view of its 
precipitous mountain range. Then the island of Oahu approached, 
and the beautiful valleys thereon opened up one by one with en- 
chanting beauty. Rounding Diamond Head, the town of Hono- 
lulu, together with the forest of masts in its harbor, appeared. 
The great forest of cocoa palms which fringed the shore, to- 
gether with the wealth of foliage of lesser umbrageous trees, 
created a pleasing impression of the tropical beauty of the place. 

From the deck of the vessel the panorama presented was a most 
charming one. The difference between the gloomy, forbidding 
and sunburnt coast of California, which they had just left, and 
the verdure-covered peaks of the Island of Oahu, was like the 
awakening from a dismal nightmare. With an artistic and al- 
most prophetic eye our hero could see a brilliant future for Hono- 
lulu. Diamond Head, which they had just rounded, stood out in 
bold relief, and no one asked why it had been called Diamond 
Head, as that was the natural name for it, its clear-cut, precipitous 
sides reminding one more of the facets of a cut diamond than of 
anything else. Far ahead of the ship could be seen another 
range of mountains similar in appearance to that at the rear of 
the city. At the margin of the neck of land which connected the 
two ranges lay a loch, called Pearl Harbor, upon whose smooth 
waters the sun glistened. Many valleys, whose sides were cov- 
ered with verdure of different shades, opened towards the sea, 
giving promise of enchanting drives and points to lure the sight- 
seer. 

Although our hero and his family had forgotten the hardships 
and misery of the first part of the trip, and were enjoying to the 
full the balance of the voyage, they, with the cabin passengers, 
were glad to get ashore. 

"Kansas" was a brave man, and was not intimidated by what 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hcnvaii. 13 

he had learned of the unHkeHhood of succeeding on the islands. 
Although the impression he obtained was that there was a great 
distinction made between rich and poor, and that the prospects 
for a poor man were not bright, he did not apply it to himself. 
He had never felt poverty, and had always been able to make 
provision for his wife and family. In Kansas and California, 
they were not considered poor, the masses being of their own 
class. He had been well educated in the public schools, had been 
a year at an agricultural college and had taught school two win- 
ters before he had met the young woman who had agreed to 
take him for better or for worse, and they had gone west. Now 
they were to live in a country where there was a marked dis- 
tinction between those who had the possession of money, accident- 
ally or otherwise, and those who had none. This they could not 
realize. It did not disturb them very much, as they had within 
themselves all that was necessary to make life happy, and they 
merely sought the opportunity to make a living by their own ex- 
ertions. Also, they were in a foreign country, which they soon 
found out, as their baggage was thoroughly examined by customs 
ofificers, and "Kansas" was compelled to pay two dollars for a 
permit to land. There were no hotels nor hotel runners, and they 
hired a push-cart to carry their effects to a lodging house in a 
part of the city where rents were low. 

Everything seemed strange to them, and in some respects the 
city appeared like a frontier town. Half naked kanakas carrying 
sticks over their shoulders, with bundles of dried grass or cala- 
bashes filled with poi (the staple of life of the Hawaiian), shocked 
the woman. Numbers of Chinese thronged the streets, and car- 
ried on innumerable dirty looking restaurants and small shops. 
The narrow, crooked and winding streets, lined with houses of all 
descriptions, from those built of rough coral slabs, to frame struc- 
tures of all imaginable styles of architecture, and with over- 
hanging verandas, gave one an impression of a place which had 
grown up, and not been laid out, as the majority of American 
towns and cities have been. Many rude sailors thronged the 
streets, forming the crews of the innumerable whaleships in the 
harbor. Their actions and language, and the heedlessness with 
which they rode through the city on horses, alarmed our new- 
comers. The food at the restaurants was good, but they soon 
found it inconvenient to take the children out three times a day 



14 The Master Planter. 



along the narrow, thronged and ill-kept sidewalks. Finally they 
obtained lodgings at the Sailors' Home, a fine building which 
was kept by a delightful old American lady, who seemed like a 
mother to all. 



CHAPTER V 

HONOLULU AS IT WAS IN DAYS OF YORE — GRASS HOUSES AND MANY 
THINGS THAT WOULD BE CURIOS NOW. 

AS they gpt opportunities to see more of the city, they found 
that there were many homes of refinement situated on the 
main avenue leading up Nuuanu Valley. These were set 
well back from the street, and were surrounded by a wealth of 
tropical foliage, and gave the tourist an impression of home and 
comfort. They climbed Punchbowl, a hill 500 feet high in the 
rear of the city, from where they obtained a magnificent view of 
the city, its harbor, and the whole surrounding country. The 
spires of churches loomed up through the foliage which covered 
everything. 

The prospect was entrancing. Grass houses of the natives 
looked like last year's haystacks, but were by no means numer- 
ous, they having been superseded largely with frame structures. 
Cocoa palms here and there had prominence over the lower forms 
of shrubbery, and bore the appearance of frayed-out umbrellas. 
A glamour seemed to have possessed our travelers, for they were 
charmed with everything in view. They were reminded of the 
saymg of one of the passengers, "that any one who lives on the 
islands for a time will assuredly come back." The balmy air, the 
evenness of the temperature, the geniality of expression on the 
faces of all the conglomerate inhabitants, and the pleasant sur- 
roundings must be chargeable with this restful, homelike impres- 
sion. 

The harbor was small, but seemed adequate for the business 
of the port. Business appeared to be brisk, and a spirit of con- 
tentment possessed all with whom they came in contact. The 
natives, especially the women, were decked out in the most brilliant 
colors of silks and prints. Both men and women wore leis (wreaths) 
of flowers or ferns around their hats, the latter being principally 
home-made from cocoa or other palm leaves. It was quite com- 
mon to see bare feet peeping from under silk gowns, probably 
from the comfort of going barefooted. Carriages were not very 



16 The Master Planter; or 

numerous, although drays for carrying merchandise were quite 
common. It was a frequent sight to see natives seated on push 
carts, together with their household effects, being moved from 
one part of the city to another. Gangs of prisoners working on 
the street, in parti-colored garments, under the charge of a turn- 
key, were continually on the move. It was also the rule to hire 
out prisoners to private individuals, as gardeners or chore-men. 
Amongst the prisoners a few white men were seen, but they were 
principally natives or Chinese. Evidently, there was no peni- 
tentiary where prisoners could be kept employed within walls at 
the manufacture of merchantable wares, as in cities on the main- 
land. Uniformed native police and soldiers appeared to be quite 
numerous. 

The meat and fish markets seemed to be well stocked and 
well patronized. It was quite a treat to visit the fish market, 
where both were sold, and watch the manner of selling and de- 
livery of the wares. The market was always interesting, from 
the great variety of curious and beautifully colored fishes, varie- 
ties which were strange to the markets on the mainland. To note 
how quickly a native salesman would wrap up fish in a couple 
of leaves, which afforded a handle for carrying the package and 
at the same time a vehicle, dish, or mode for cooking the same, 
when the buyer had arrived at home. 

On visiting the houses of natives, who always welcomed the 
stranger, our travelers were surprised at the simplicity of the 
domestic arrangements. To make a fire in a small hole sur- 
rounded with stones and place a saucepan over it, as the miners 
did, was the only way (excepting the cooking" of taro) what cook- 
ing they did was performed. Alany kinds of fish were eaten 
raw, but this did not have the repulsive features about it that 
one would expect. When properly cleaned and cut up in lumps 
there was no blood and gurry, and on trying it they found that 
it was as delicious as rav/ oysters, and equally digestible. 

It was quite common to see natives carrying coffee or tea-pots 
from Chinese restaurants, somewhat the way some of our people 
"rush the growler" in the East. Saddle horses appeared to be 
very numerous, and men and women rode equally astride. It 
did not appear to be unbecoming for women to ride astride, as 
they had invented a garment for the purpose. It was wrapped 
around the hips and extended down the inner side of the leg, 
and was held in place by the great toe in the stirrup. Generally 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 17 

they were made of the most brilHant colors to be had, and a caval- 
cade of native women galloping through the streets made a very 
pretty sight. 

For a tropical country the markets afforded very little variety 
of fruits. Oranges, breadfruit, ohias (mountain apples), 
bananas, and a few guavas, were all that was noticeable, whereas 
in the West Indies a hundred kinds of fruit would be offered. 

There appeared to be considerable drunkenness on the streets, 
and even amongst the native men and women, although it was a 
serious misdemeanor to furnish liquor to them. The police ap- 
peared to be quite active, and on the slightest manifestation of 
inebriety in a sailor, he would be taken to the station house, 
from whence he did not depart until he contributed his share 
towards the support of the government. 

A small foundry and machine shop seemed to be very busy 
turning out sugar machinery, but it was said that most of that 
used on the islands was imported.* There was a very large fleet 
of small schooners which plied between the islands, and one 
steamer, although for speed the schooners were preferable. Great 
quantities of produce came in regularly, and the wharves pre- 
sented a busy sight where these small craft were discharging their 
cargoes of oranges, rice, corn, pigs and cattle. The natives were 
great travelers, and the decks of these small vessels appeared to 
be as full of passengers as it was possible. 

Large quantities of lumber w^ere being piled up along the 
wharves, and the change from grass houses to frame buildings 
had set in all over the islands. There appeared to be no attempt 
to export tropical fruits, nor in fact anything but sugar, rice, and 
whalebone and oil. The discovery of rock oil, or petroleum, and 

* This is one of many industries in which Hawaii has forged ahead 
■wonderfully, ever abreast of the world's progress. The Honolulu Iron 
Works is not only now manufacturing practically all the sugar mill 
machinery used in the phenomenally-enlarged sugar industry of the 
group, but is building and erecting mills in Mexico and the Far East 
in competition, with the world. At this time (1910) the biggest sugar 
mill in the world is being built at the Honolulu Iron Works for the 
Philippines and will be in operation in 1911; by biggest is meant the 
largest rollers, not the capacity of the mill. A mill in Cuba is said to 
have the greatest output capacity, with our own Puunene, on Maui, 
second. Nearly two dozen of the Hawaiian mills are to the credit of 
this wide-awake concern. An order is now in hand, from Japanese 
sources, for the sixth big mill for Formosa. 



18 The Master Planter. 



the numerous uses it could be applied to in illuminating and for 
machinery, was said to have reduced the price of whale oil, and 
that industry would cease. The merchants talked over the mat- 
ter, and it did not appear as if there was anything which could 
take its place. 

The rock-bound coast of most of the islands, and the lack of 
harbors, Honolulu being the only true harbor in the archipelago, 
gave the impression that the cultivation of sugar must be limited. 
Coffee, cotton and tobacco had been tried, but for various reasons 
success in any of them was not prognosticated. The district of 
Kona, on Hawaii, produced a magnificent, aromatic coffee, but 
it was said that the scarcity of hands for picking it and the low 
prices of Central American and Brazilian coffee, with which it 
would have to contend in the market, would prevent the industry 
from ever assuming large proportions. 

"Kansas" tramped the streets and made numerous acquaint- 
ances, and his Yankee style of making inquiries into every pos- 
sible matter was remarked. He studied the maps of the different 
islands, and was given all possible assistance in the survey office. 
From the surveyors, who had tramped over the different locali- 
ties, he learned very much. 



CHAPTER VI 

"KANSAS" IS BUSY INVESTIGATING THE BUSINESS POSSIBILITIES — 
LIVELY TIMES IN THE DAYS OF THE WHALER MAN. 

THE principal food of the natives was taro {arum escitlen- 
tum), and it was also used in every home. He studied 
the cultivation of it, and found that it was raised in 
patches which were diked about with earth or stone embank- 
ments at great expense. It was raised in water, that is, after the 
patches were dried up and dug up and the tops of the plant sec 
in mud the water was turned on and it was kept flooded until 
nearly ripe, probably 12 or 14 months, and then pulled and 
the tops cut off for future planting, and the roots sold in sacks 
or made into poi, a paste made by washing, cooking and mash- 
ing the taro and mixing with water. I't was a very wholesome 
food, and our travelers liked taro in any form, either as plain 
boiled, baked, made into cakes, or as poi. "Kansas" soon saw 
that he could not compete with the natives in the cultivation of 
taro, as it required weeding and working as well as any other 
vegetable, and this could only be done by wading in mud, the 
best way of doing which was the native style, i. e., naked, with a 
breech clout on. 

He saw the love of all classes for flowers and knew that he 
could make a success of that business, although the natives were 
very good natural gardeners, and in their little patches raised 
great quantities. He tramped up Nuuanu Valley, where a small 
sugar plantation was being carried on. In conversation with 
the owner he was proffered work, but at a very small salary. 
When he told that he had a wife and two children to support, the 
planter said they had no accommodations for a white woman on 
the place, and "Kansas" could not live on the pay. 

He went over the Pali, the great precipice which was said to 
be the scene of Kamehameha First's last battle in subjugating 
the islands, and visited two sugar estates on the Koolau side. 
At both places he was nicely received, and at either of them he 
could have obtained work, but neither of them had accommoda- 



20 The Master Planter; or 

tions for a white woman, and the pay offered was very small. 
Still, the more he saw of sugar the more he was interested in its 
culture, and was sure that he could make a success of it if he 
could only catch on. He and his wife talked over all matters 
that he learned in his peregrinations, and sh^ could not under- 
stand wh}^ there should be much objection to a man who had a 
family. 

They felt that they had made a grievous mistake in coming to 
the islands, but she saw his inclination to the sugar industry, 
and they determined that he should see more of the country be- 
fore deciding to return to California. He had taken note of the 
Chinese gardens, which as a rule consisted of several taro patches, 
dried up and cultivated by hand, as there was no room for ia 
plow. They paid very high rentals for these lands, especially 
those near to the city limits, and they packed their produce from 
door to door, in baskets carried on long sticks or poles across 
the shoulders. He always had admired the indefatigable 
industry of the Chinese, but never thought to be brought into 
competition with it. They worked very hard, and even in the 
night might be seen watering their little vegetable gardens. 
There was no room for him in the gardening industry, which he 
so well understood. He saw the love of flowers and greenery 
displayed in the homes of the foreign population, and knew that 
he could make money at potting plants and ferns, — but the sugar 
cultivation was what he wished to get into. 

He and his wife endeavored to see all they could of Honolulu, 
but there were not many public conveyances. Occasionally he 
induced an old skipper to take his wife out in a rambling old 
chaise, which looked as if it had come out in the ark, and that 
Noah, himself, just over a drunken spell, was driving it. It was 
a good deal better than staying at home, as walking in the 
tropics, to one not used to it, is very trying. Saddle horses were 
very numerous, and he induced his wife to learn to use the saddle. 

The old lady at the Home gladly took charge of the children 
at times, and they were enabled to get about and see somewhat 
of the surroundings of the city. They climbed to the top of 
Punchbowl, from where they obtained a magnificent view of the 
whole adjacent country. Far to the west a charming vista pre- 
sented. An immense field of emerald, at certain parts of which 
the sea w^as enclosed, forming lagoons, appeared to afford agri- 
cultural possibilities. This great slope was well watered by 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 21 

numerous streams from the range of mountains which was the 
backbone of the island of Oahu. 

On riding over these lands he found they were only cultivated 
in the valleys or near the margin of the lagoons, and was told 
that the balance of the land was very poor soil and was vejry 
shallow. The taro, sweet potatoes and bananas which throve so 
luxuriously in that region, were brought up to the city in boats. 

The roads were merely horse-trails, and, except one, barely 
wide enough for running gear. He did not believe that lands 
which produced so heavy a crop of weeds was poor soil, and 
judged that it was the system of ownership which prevented 
them from being cultivated. If he had seen the land at another 
season when all would be burnt up for lack of water, he might 
not have come to the same conclusion. The verdant appearance 
was caused by the dense growth of the indigo f era anil 
plant which had been brought from India with the expectation 
of cultivating and making indigo. The discovery of the art of 
making indigo from chemicals had destroyed that hope. He 
tested the soil and found in many places it was but 12 to 18 
inches in depth, covering a strata of coral. Evidently it had been 
upheaved from the sea and was slowly being covered with 
alluvion. 

They galloped across the plains to Waikiki and watched the 
natives disporting in the sea. To sit under a hau tree and watch 
the king and his people riding the surf on boards or in canoes 
was one of the treats. Surely, of all aquatic sports, this must be 
the one which afforded the greatest amusement. The dexterity 
with which they handled their surf-boards, and fearlessness with 
which they rode waves that threatened certain destruction, was 
a most fascinating sight to a stranger. 

Either the novelty of tropical life or the beauty of all the sur- 
roundings, had a charm for "Kansas" and his wife which made 
them feel that they would strive to make a home on the islands. 

The stores where whaling captains obtained their supplies were 
naturally resorts for these hardy men, and here they delighted 
to congregate and hear and tell stories of their experiences in 
the Arctic. It is said that here they have killed more and greater 
whales than ever were taken, and that the described perils were 
as vividly depicted as an appreciative audience could wish. To 
visit from ship to ship was called "gamming," and in calm 
weather, when no whales were in sight, it was a very common 



22 The Master Planter; or 

occurrence for "the old man" to call away a boat and puQl Uo 
one of the vessels in the neighborhood for the sake of passing! 
an hour or two in exchanging gossip or to test the neiighbor's 
cuisine. A lot of these captains delighted to renew their ac- 
quaintance in Honolulu, and would sit around by the hour 
"swapping yarns." The chairs they occupied bore the marks of the 
knives of the "old skippers" who, unconsciously, in their interest 
in the recitals, whittled away at the arms or wooden seats. One 
storekeeper, to protect his furniture, drove tacks in every possible 
spot, but the next season the skippers industriously proceeded to 
dig out the tacks with their valuable pocket knives. 

Absentmindedness appeared to be a feature with some of these 
whaler men. A story is told of one of them who came in coat- 
less, and, having purchased a coat and paid for it, he joined the 
circle of yarn spinners. Presently he threw off the garment in 
his excitement of telling a good one. Then he remembered that 
he came in to buy a coat, and proceeded to fit himself out again. 
In the thrilling excitement of listening to some startling story, 
the coat was discarded and he became wrapped up in the narra- 
tive. Again he remembered the object of his visit to thei store, 
and he purchased another coat. This was repeated three times 
during the evening. When closing time came he was handed 
back the amount he had over-paid. It went to show that sailors 
and their money are soon parted. Some of them did not, how- 
ever, leave their business shrewdness on the other side of Cape 
Horn, where they were said to have left their consciences, and 
instances are told of storekeepers being induced to put in a bill 
for fifty sacks of potatoes, against the ship, whereas in fact a 
gold watch was the merchandise which was delivered. 

A glimpse into "Liberty Hall" or "the National" saloons 
would show how the sailor made his hard earned money fly, and 
give the reader somewhat of an idea of the effect of rum and 
white man's influence on the native race. The latter was a two- 
storied structure with a large saloon on the ground floor, while 
the second story had two bars in constant occupation during the 
whale season. Music and dancing enticed the sailors, and numer- 
ous native women sat around ready to be partners, either for 
round or square dances. The latter were most in vogue, as more 
of the awkward sailors could take part in them than in waltzes 
or polkas. The caller controlled the dance, and at the end of the 
fifth figure would call out, "March your partner to the bar," and 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 23 

men and women would find themselves lined up to the bar as 
many as a hundred at a time. Drinks were twenty-five cents 
each, and when Jack threw down his dollar or a twenty or even 
a fifty dollar "slug" in payment for his and partner's gin, there 
would be no change back. 

Some told "Kansas" at the Home that they repented, when at 
sea, of having squandered their hard-earned money, even saying 
that with comrades in the fo'c's'le they had gone down on their 
knees and solemnly vowed to God never to touch liquor again, 
and to save their money for their families at home who were de- 
pendent on them. They were so improvident as to even part with 
their spare clothing, and go to sea without a sufficiency to shield 
themselves from the miseries of the Arctic cold. Here they 
would be compelled to apply to the "slop chest," and were again 
robbed, as the "shoddy" dealt out to them was not worth one- 
fourth the amount charged up for it against their share of the 
season's catch. 



CHAPTER VII 

HONOLULU AND THE CHURCHES OF THE OLD DAYS — OUR HERO 
AGAIN AT SEA, BUT ALONE. 

THEY visited the native churches, as well as the foreign, and 
remarked that the populace was at least a church-going 
one. The large native churches were filled to repletion, 
and they felt repaid by their observations of the congregations. 
The dress of both men and women was unique, to say the least. 
Some of the women were dressed in silks, their hats were of the 
latest style and their colored kid gloves were quite conspicuous. 
Others were dressed in gaudy colored calicoes, and wore their 
native hats with wreaths of ferns or flowers. The men appeared 
to love to display silk hats, broadcloth clothes, and all felt that it 
was necessary to wear shoes that could squeak, probably to show 
their newness. However, whatever their peculiarities of dress 
were, it was apparent that they were devout worshippers, as was 
attested by the volume of sound when a hymn was given out. 
Evidently the natives are natural musicians, as the singing was 
excellent, all parts in the melodies being well sustained. The 
language seems to be well adapted to song, as much so as the 
Italian. The preacher, a white man, was very much in earnest, 
and the congregation appeared to be much interested. 

Our travelers could not understand any part of the service, 
except the tunes, which were exceedingly familiar, such as "From 
Greenland's Icy Mountains," "Rock of Ages," etc., to which the 
missionaries had adapted Hawaiian words. A matter which 
caught their attention was the continual wheezing and coughing 
all over the vast congregation, and which must have been more 
or less distracting to the worshippers. Evidently it was the sign 
of the pulmonary diseases which have decimated the population 
of the islands, the change from nudity to wearing clothes 
weakening the cuticle and making the party susceptible to colds 
and influenza, formerly so freely repelled by a skin inured to sun 
and rain. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 25 

There were two foreign churches in the city, one a very large 
one on Fort street, where the most of the fashionable people at- 
tended. The pastor in charge was a very eloquent speaker, and 
was worthy of the large salary it was said he received. The choir 
was well trained and was not, as in the East, composed of paid 
singers. Of two of the sopranos one has since made a national 
reputation as an opera singer. 

Our travelers felt more at home in a little church in the rear 
of the Sailors' Home, called the Seaman's Bethel. The earnest 
old preacher seemed like a father to his congregation, and was 
interested in the personal welfare of each member. He often 
talked with "Kansas" and his wife, and gave them great encour- 
agement of ultimate success on the islands. In both churches, 
however, they were taken by the hand by members and made 
welcome to the city, and asked to call at the different homes. 

They needed more than the "glad hand" just then, and it was 
all depending on his exertions. For his wife's sake he was ex- 
tremely anxious to live in Honolulu, and to that end sought em- 
ployment of any nature. Had he a trade or profession he could 
have done very well, as wages to mechanics were good and em- 
ployment was easy to be obtained. As an ordinary laborer he 
could not earn sufficient to keep them. 

_ Much as they admired the churches, Sunday schools and so- 
ciety of the city, and strong as was their desire to make a home 
in Honolulu, all his attempts to do so met with no success, and 
they determined that he should visit some of the other islands. 

This was their first separation, and they felt very sad over it, 
and determined it should be but a short one. "Man proposes 
and God disposes," is an old saying, and in this instance was a 
true one. He decided to go first to Lahaina, on Maui, and after 
seeing that island go to Hawaii. Traveling on inter-island ves- 
sels is quite expensive, and he asked the captain of a little 
schooner if he might take a deck passage. The captain said that 
"white men did not travel that way, but if he was hard up he 
would give him a passage." He denied being so poor as to be 
unable to pay his passage and was finally permitted to pay two 
dollars for a "deck passage" to Lahaina, the captain telling him 
that he would have to provide his own food and blankets, and 
that they frequently made the trip in a night, but were sometimes 
two or three days. Taking his roll of blankets and a package of 
lunch, he bade his wife and little ones a sad farewell. 



26 The Master Planter. 



Again he was at sea, but this time on a little bobbing schooner, 
whose action was so different from that of the noble bark on 
which they had arrived that he soon succumbed to the mal de 
mer. Lying on deck with the spray dashing over him, and the 
wind blowing down onto him from the foresail, surrounded by 
kanakas, w-ahines and sea-sick Chinamen, and feeling so wretched, 
he thought he had reached the lowest round of the ladder. Now 
and then the schooner would ship a sea, often caused by the; 
wheelman to make the deck passengers squeal ; and the com- 
bination of pigs, sour smelling poi, calabashes, traveling tins, 
wet children crying, and sick Chinamen was almost more than 
human nature could bear. Then w'hen the breeze died out the 
schooner would roll in the trough of the sea, and the sails would 
slat about, exposing the passengers to the blazing tropical sun. 

Our hero paid very little attention to the view of Molokai or 
Lanai as the schooner either drifted up the channel or wallowed 
in the trough of the sea, at times in close proximity to either of 
these islands. Why a man should go to sea at all, when the 
United States was still "large enough to give us all a farm," he 
could not comprehend ; and he there decided that he would go 
back to that fair land as soon as Providence would let him. 

The resolutions of a sea-sick man are probably based on the 
action of the changing positions of the molecules which compose 
the brain, and are as permanent as the beautiful pictures seen in 
the ordinary kaleidoscope. Oh, the misery of those two nights 
up the channel to Lahaina ! it burned an impression on his soul 
never to be effaced. Afterwards he felt grateful that he had been 
so horribly sick, as his sense of wretchedness was thereby 
blunted. On the second morning the schooner came to her an- 
chorage at Lahaina, and innumerable clamorous boat boys 
swarmed her decks, vicing w^ith each other for the privilege of 
carrying the passengers ashore. 



CHAPTER VIII 

LAHAINA, THE FORMER CAPITAL OF THE KINGDOM MORE DIS- 
COURAGEMENTS FOR THE MAN FROM KANSAS. 

FROM the anchorage, which is in the roadstead, Lahaina ap- 
peared to be embowered in trees, amongst which the bread- 
fruit, cocoanut, kukui and mango maintained the suprem- 
acy. Situated at the base of a serrated range of mountains, 
which were clothed in verdure from the peaks to the sea, it pre- 
sented the most charming aspect. Many grass huts and a few 
frame houses lined the beach for a distance of more than four 
miles, from which it appeared that the inhabitants preferred to 
live near the shore. On going ashore, however, our hero was 
surprised to find that the umbrageous foliage concealed the great- 
er part of the town. Streets there were along which adobe build- 
ings, in every stage of decay or dilapidation, ranged themselves. 

The first impression the visitor gained was that when a build- 
ing fell there it was a public improvement. Lahaina had been 
the capital, and in its day boasted of the ''halepiula," or palace of 
the king. Evidently, the foreigner had brought there, in earliest 
days, the art of building houses from adobe, as practiced by the 
Spaniards in California. These buildings, when kept in repair 
and the scoving or surface of plaster maintained, present a hand- 
some appearance, but when the thatched roof is allowed to fall 
off or get out of repair, are very quickly destroyed by the fierce 
tropical rains. 

The coming of the schooner had apparently brought out all 
the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding country, and our 
hero was surprised to note the great number of horses and riders 
dressed in the gayest of colors. He afterwards learned that 
every man, woman and child owned a horse, pasturing it on any 
one's land. The natives appeared very friendly, none failing to 
wish him a hearty "aloha." He found lodgings in a house sur- 
rounded with canefields, and after getting a bath and change of 
clothing proceeded to find a restaurant. His first impressions of 
Lahaina were extremely pleasant, and he hoped to be able to find 



28 The Master Planter; or 

employment there and to get his beloved family again with him, 
never to part again. Chinese restaurants v^ere numerous, but he 
found an old Dutch baker who kept a coffee shop, and who had 
the reputation of making the best bread on the islands. Perhaps 
he did not do justice to that first meal? The baker thought he 
was hungry. 

On the way up to the sugar mill to seek employment, he did 
not fail to notice the thriftiness of the cane on either side of the 
road, and the innumerable stalks which sprang from one hill. It 
was all under irrigation and grew in trenches where the water 
was permitted to settle away. Arrived at the mill, he met one of 
the owners, who talked freely with him of the news of the main- 
land and of the war and the prospects. After asserting his capa- 
bilities as a farmer, he made inquiry as to the possibilities of get- 
ting employment. He was promptly answered that they had no 
work for him, firstly because he did not understand the work, nor 
the language, and could not therefore act as a luna or overseer, 
and they would not let a white man work in the fields as a com- 
mon laborer. Neither could they place him as a teamster or as a 
laborer in the sugar house. They had natives for teamsters, and 
Chinamen for dryers and packers, and the only white men on the 
place were the overseers and mechanics. He told the planter that 
he was a practical farmer, and could do any part of the agricul- 
tural work on the plantation. That he was extremely anxious to 
get work, as he had a wife and two children in Honolulu to sup- 
port, and that he would be content with a very small salary until 
such times as his services were appreciated. The planter in- 
formed him that there were no accommodations on the place for a 
white woman, and they could not employ him. 

Crestfallen, he walked away down towards the beach, where he 
chatted with an American storekeeper. On inquiry as to the con- 
sumption of vegetables and from whence they came, he was as- 
sured that they did not use much in that line, and that beef and 
Lanai mutton and taro were the mainstay of Lahaina. Taro 
grew prolifically in the concealed valleys back of the town, and 
potatoes came from Kula on the other side of the island. 

He seemed to be balked at every turn. He remarked that he 
saw overseers riding round herding Chinese and natives, and he 
reckoned he could do that kind of work, or handle the plow. 

"Ah, my dear sir," said the storekeeper, "you cannot talk the 
language, and, moreover, there is not a plow on the plantation." 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 29 

Was it possible this great crop of cane was planted by hand 
labor? Yes, the lands which aggregated this great plantation 
were all trenched by shovel and mattock. The expense was enor- 
mous, but he was informed that one planting was sufficient from 
which to cut cane for five years, and there was some that had 
not been replanted in sixteen years. The second and succeeding 
crops were called rattoons, which, if well cared for and frequently 
irrigated, produced almost as much as that from the first planting. 

Our hero reckoned he would have the proper kind of plow at 
work if he was the owner. He suggested that he could learn the 
language and cane culture. 

"No doubt of that," said the merchant, "but you will find that 
planters are not breaking in white men." 

Poor white men were looked at suspiciously, unless they were 
mechanics. There certainly seemed no show for him. He wan- 
dered around the plantation observing the manner in which the 
cane was planted and studying the plant itself. Also he ascended 
towards Lahainaluna, the college where native graduates 
from the common schools were finished off. He noted the source 
of the streams which irrigated the fields, and saw that Lahaina 
was most aptly situated for an immense rich plantation. On call- 
ing at the college he was pleasantly entertained by the principal, 
and shown through the rooms, and the nature of the studies of 
the young men. The teaching was in native, and the scholars 
appeared very intelligent. They did their own planting of taro 
and sweet potatoes, and their friends furnished them some fish 
and meats, and altogether the tuition and living cost very little. 
Many of the graduates obtained employment as surveyors, and 
some went into law or the pulpit, the majority, however, drifting 
back to their ordinary mode of life. 

Lahaina appeared to have every advantage for sugar culture, 
not only from its rich soil, abundance of water and proximity to 
the landing, but from the natural lay of the land, the cane getting 
the benefit of the sun until the last minute of the day. The heat at 
midday was something remarkable, but the mornings and even- 
ings were delightful. In the evening he met an old missionary, 
one of the class he had read so much of in his earlier days. He 
was invited to call and met the missionary's wife and daughter. 
They chatted familiarly with him, heard of his wife and little 
ones with sympathetic ears, and could not realize the barrier 
which stood between him and an opportunity to earn a liveli- 



30 The Master Planter; or 

hood. The house was one of those old adobe or stone buildings, 
carefully whitewashed, and having green blinds. Standing back 
from the street it had the appearance of comfort and home. 

In after years, in riding to Lahaina on jury duty or court busi- 
ness, it seemed to loom up as a place where true rest from the 
heat of the road or business cares was certain. They showed him 
many curios from the northern seas, presented by their whaling 
friends, and also many rare shells and curios from the south, 
which had been sent by brother missionaries. They admitted 
that he was the stamp of a man the country was in need of, and 
urged him to keep up his courage and he would get an opportun- 
ity to show his worth. The old missionary remarked "That Ha- 
waii was a country where a man found his level sooner than in 
any other." 

How we do love sympathy? It appeared that the few words 
of sympathy extended to him by these old people had done him 
more good than anything that had happened since his arrival at 
Honolulu. They invited him to breakfast, but he declined on 
the ground that he wished to make an early start for the other 
side of the island. They said their boys were engaged as over- 
seers on some of the plantations over there, but knew they could 
be of no assistance, as they were not sure of their own tenure of 
office, in that it had been decided to reduce the number of em- 
ployees. A kind farewell, and an urgent invitation to make their 
house his home whenever he might come to Lahaina again, and 
he was gone. 

At daylight he started with his roll of blankets on his back on 
the way to \Vailuku. As he tramped the roads at that early hour 
he noticed the laxity of discipline amongst the laborers and the 
indifferent manner in which the cane was cared for. 

How his fingers itched to get a chance at improvements? He 
was a true farmer, and knew that one hour's work at dawn was 
worth two at noon. He saw where he considered mistakes were 
made in laying out rows of cane, that they might obtain the best 
results from irrigation as well as full play for the circulation of 
the regular winds. He had an idea that, next to water, air had 
most to do with the cultivation of sugar. He enquired continually 
as to the best season for planting, stripping, cutting, etc., etc., 
and also noticed a difference in canes as to color of stalk and 
size of leaf. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 31 

Men did not appear to know much about sugar, or perhaps 
were not as observing as they should be. He recognized that the 
industry was in its infancy. His time was not all lost. He saw 
the abuse of the animals on the plantation ; evidently they would 
not live out half the natural work life. He saw the waste of time 
by the employees, as well as of the animals. Carts with a wheel- 
barrow load, and carts overloaded, were being driven belter 
skelter to the mill. He saw men and women idling away their 
time in the fields, and saw cane growing from roots so old that it 
evidently had not produced its maximum for the past four years. 

And yet the owners got rich. What would the result be if a 
little brains and push were added? 

How delightful the early morning hours are on the islands! 
The road along which he walked was a path through the Garden 
of Eden. The hedges on both sides of the road were covered 
with vines of the wild nasturtium and convolvulus, and innumer- 
able hibiscus and papaia trees shed the fragrance of their blos- 
soms on the morning air. Trees loaded with mangoes, cocoanuts, 
papaias and castor and croton oil nuts or beans, together with the 
mass of mimosa and mesquite beans, proclaimed that nature was 
doing her best to make "life in the tropics" easy for man. The 
sky was full of light from the rising sun, which is invisible here 
until quite late on account of the height and proximity of the 
mountain. The eternal lap-lap of the wavelets on the beach, to- 
gether with the innumerable sounds of awakening animal life, 
united to produce a charming pjicture of an earthly heaven. As 
he strolled along the Lahaina beach and out through Olowalu 
and Ukumehame he remarked that some day there would be a 
large plantation established there. The man from Kansas, with 
his observing eye and enquiring mind and Eastern vim, would 
make his mark yet ! 

As he reached the top of the mountain at Manawainui and 
caught a view of the Wailuku kula or plain, and got his lungs 
filled with the invigorating trade winds, he felt glad that he had 
failed in Lahaina. Here was scope for the imagination. Here 
were thousands of acres of unoccupied land covered with a mag- 
nificent robe of emerald. Could it be that men had failed to ob- 
tain possession of this immense tract, or was there some obstacle 
in the way? Here was room for an immense plantation, prob- 
ably 20,000 acres. Sugar yielded two and one-half tons to the 
acre, and sold at $240 per ton, while the cost of raising did not 



32 The Master Planter. 

exceed $ioo. His Yankee brain was at work, and while cogitat- 
ing matters the ground passed behind him in such strides that he 
had reached the Waikapu stream before he was aware of it. 
Slaking his thirst and bathing his head and face, he felt refreshed, 
and pushed on to Wailuku. 



CHAPTER IX 



lAO, THE YOSEMITE OF THE ISLANDS — DERIVATION OF THE HA- 
WAIIAN WORD FOR LAW — WAILUKU AND ITS DEFINITION. 

WAILUKU, the name of a little village at the entrance cf lao 
Valley, is also the name of a large tract of country extend- 
ing across the plain, from one range of mountains to the 
other, on East Maui. This valley, lao, has frequently been called 
the Yosemite of the islands. It is evidently a huge crater, which 
has been extinct for ages, whose precipitous sides are clothed with 
perennial ferns and evergreens. It is an admirable basin for 
catching water, which from ancient times had been guided in 
ditches out onto either side of the valley to supply the myriad of 
taro patches of the ancient inhabitants. 

Far up in the valley can still be found signs of the cultivation 
of the soil by a people whose great numbers had compelled them 
to live in a part that, on account of the absence of sunlight, was 
so uninviting. From this valley, however, many of the Hawaiian 
necessaries of life were obtained. Here grew the ti leaf (draccna 
tcrminalis, or cordyline), which serves as a wrapper for food, for 
plates, for a vehicle for cooking, for the scant clothing of the 
ancients, for thatching temporary huts, for medicine, and a 
thousand other uses the Hawaiian puts it to. It is greedily eaten, 
also, by the herbiferous animals, and its root, which grows very 
large, is much sought as a very sweet and nutritious food. Un- 
fortunately, like many other vegetables, it contains much alcohol, 
and was used by the ancients for making a beer. The white man 
showed them how to make a spirit from it, which was called 
okole-hao, on account of a musket barrel being used to convey 
and condense the steam from the boiling expressed and fermented 
juice. To this introduced art may be ascribed much of the fatali- 
ties of the Hawaiian. 

In this valley grew, also, the kukui or candle nut, used by the 
natives for making their torches. The raw nut is very laxative, 
and is used also as an emetic. The husk of the nut makes an 
indelible dye, and is an astringent used in medicine. When 



34 The Master Planter; or 

roasted it forms an excellent condiment, and is always used in 
feasts. 

On the sides of the ravines which open into the valley grew 
the olona (touchardia latifolia), so useful in making" fish lines 
and nets. Also the wauke (B. payyrifera), from the fibre of 
which their cloth and quilts were made. The valley was the 
source from which they obtained many of the herbs whose medi- 
cinal qualities were well known to the kahunas^ or doctors. 

Above all, however, the valley as a catch-basin for water was 
most appreciated, as this district supplied foodstuflls for a large 
section of the islands. Most of the internecine wars had arisen 
on account of disputed water rights. Time and again had rules 
been made for the equable division of the water, only to be broken 
by some overbearing neighbor. These rules had been committed 
to memory and passed down from father to son, and were termed 
"kanawai," meaning pertaining to water, and from thence comes 
the present Hawaiian word for law. 

The rivalry for the life-giving water extended far from the 
banks of the stream, and many people from a distance were 
dragged into the wars which took place, either to defend rights 
or to overpower those who maintained them. Taro from the 
patches in Wailuku w-as, after being cooked, pounded and wrap- 
ped in bundles in ti leaves, carried great distances, and in times 
of famine to other islands of the group. 

This valley was the scene of one of Kamehameha First's great 
battles, where, aided by fire arms procured from traders, he was 
enabled to overcome Kalanikupule, king of ^laui, and perma- 
nently add Maui to his conquests. It is said that the battle raged 
so furiously, and that the number of slain was so enormous, that 
the opening of the valley was so filled with the dead as to dam up 
the stream, and wdien it burst away the river ran pure blood, the 
valley being thereafter called "Wailuku," the water of slaughter. 

The ancient name of the stream is unknown. Judging by the 
traces of cultivation, the district on the eastern slope of West 
Maui must have been densely inhabited. Four fine streams issue 
from this range called respectively, "Wai-kapu," tabued water, 
"Wailuku," "Waiehu," muddy w^ater, and "Waihee," retreating 
water. The district was called "Nawaieha," from these four 
streams. Today these streams give names to little villages which 
nestle up against the spurs of the range, the lands adjacent to 
which have been mostly utilized for cultivating cane. The once 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 35 

numerous inhabitants have been superseded by Asiatics and 
whites. 

Fine stone churches, each with a handful of members, stand as 
monuments to the labor of the early missionaries in each village. 
This also is the history of every district on the islands. Imported 
cattle have denuded the mountains of verdure as far up as they 
could climb, and reduced the water supply by destroying the rain 
and cloud-catching evergreens. 

Nature will soon recover, however, if the cause is removed. It 
is said that in old times great numbers of cocoanut palms grew 
along the sea coast, below this district, not one of which is seen 
today. All had been destroyed in the frequent internecine wars, 
and the sugar planter finds the trunks embedded deep in the 
alluvion carried down by the furious torrents which take place 
almost annually. The harbor of the district, Kahului, is a very 
beautiful one, and yet has not the necessary protection from the 
sea to make it a safe one at all seasons. The fishing rights of 
the chiefs of the difi^erent lands, bordering on the sea, were most 
strictly enforced, and the natives being expert fishermen regularly 
fed the fish to encourage them in coming. From the sea the range 
of mountains with the extensively cultivated lands in the fore- 
ground, makes one of the prettiest pictures of island scenery. 



CHAPTER X 



AT WAILUKU KANSAS IS ADVISED TO KEEP ON TRYING IN 
SPITE OF THE DISHEARTENING OUTLOOK. 

ARRIVING at Wailuku, and securing good lodgings and get- 
ting refreshed, our hero strolled down to the sugar mill. 
The manager was a very pleasant man, invited him in 
and showed him the whole working of the establishment — 
the grinding, liming to correct acidity, boiling in open train, 
distributing into coolers for crystallization, and packing in kegs 
for the market. Here all seemed to go like clockwork. The mill 
was on a side hill, and half of the cane of the plantation had to 
be carted across the valley and up the hill. Once up, the whole 
process was down, down to the very cooper shop where the keg- 
ging was done. 

"Did it pay to haul ; would it not be better to have the mill 
lower down?" queried our hero. 

"Yes," the manager said, "but the mill was here, and we can- 
not make up our minds to make the change." 

This man appreciated the man from Kansas, and invited him to 
dinner and to spend the evening. He is a bachelor, and will be 
glad of company. Then comes the after-dinner chat on the ve- 
randa. The Kansas man finds it takes longer to bring cane to 
maturity in Wailuku than in Lahaina, as they preferred the native 
red cane which was slower in growth than the small yellow cane 
used there. 

"Would it not pay to try the Lahaina cane?" asked "Kansas." 

"No," said the manager, "we are perhaps prejudiced against it; 
any way we think the cane we have is the best adapted to this 
section." 

The Lahaina cane is richer in saccharine matter, but it is so 
small. 

During the conversation the manager heard the whole story of 
our hero's adventure to the islands, and realized his trouble. 

"You will have an up-hill fight, my friend," said he. "This is 
not a poor man's country. Of course the poor are the most nu- 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haivaii. Z7 

merous, but how are you going to get a start with the weight 
around your neck which you have in the form of a wife and fam- 
ily ? They must Hve, and you cannot get any pay worth speaking 
of short of two years hence." 

Then the Kansas man told him of the waste and lack of econ- 
omy, and of intelligent culture he had observed, etc., etc. The 
manager replied, "What you say is true, and we have not got 
down to Eastern economy and methods yet ; but the profits are so 
large that we can afford to overlook those little things." 
^^ "Some day you will not overlook anything," said "Kansas"; 
"all will be needed in competition." Then he asked if the man- 
ager could give him employment. 

"No," said he, "although I believe you are competent and will 
eventually succeed. I have run over the whole field and do not 
see where I could place you. There is nothing but the most de- 
meanmg work I could set you at, and I would not do that." 

"What yould you advise?" said "Kansas." 

"Keep on trying. Go to Waihee and see their plant. They 
may be able to place you, but I understand they have a whole 
lot of missionary boys there and have orders to cut down their 
force. Anyhow, I should keep on trying." 

It looked very blue for this practical man, that he could not 
get an opportunity to show his worth. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE MISSIONARIES HAD TROUBLE, TOO — OUR HERO HAS WORK AT 
LAST, BUT AS ^SHIPPED MAN." 

THE next morning our hero started for Waihee, a distance of 
three or four miles. Walking through the fields, he took 
note of the careful manner in which the cultivation was 
done, the plow being used everywhere, and the cane laid out in 
rows in most systematic manner, so that while getting the full 
benefit of the irrigation it also was open to trade winds' so far 
as possible. He was overtaken by a man riding a mule, who 
accosted him in a friendly manner and conversed with him in re- 
gard to his impressions of the country and especially of the fields. 
"Kansas" replied that what he saw came nearer to his idea of a 
proper method of cultivation than on any other plantation. 

"I am glad to hear you say so," said the rider; "I am the man- 
ager of Waihee plantation, but one of the missionaries of La- 
haina laid out the plowing and planting, and is overseeing the 
cultivation." 

The rider asked him if he was interested in sugar. He replied 
that he was deeply interested ; and then as they went along told 
him the story of his great desire to learn the business, and of his 
capabilities in the farming line. The manager said, "You are the 
kind of man we want, and we would like very much to have you 
and your family settled with us and form part of the small society 
at Waihee ; but, unfortunately, I am not able to give you employ- 
ment, as I have orders to cut down my list of employees, and must 
even part with my brother-in-law." 

He invited him into the mill and showed him through the 
whole works. It was truly the best mill and plantation on the 
islands. Everything was on a large scale. It had the most land, 
the most water, the best management, and in many ways was 
the best property our hero had seen on the islands. He was in- 
vited to dinner, and met the manager's nice family, and talked 
over his own prospects. The manager advised him to persevere 
and he would assuredly catch on somewhere. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haivaii. 39 

"The sugar industry is in its infancy," said he, "and not one- 
tliird of the land on the islands adapted to its culture is under 
cultivation. It is bound to be the coming industry and main- 
tenance of the islands, and will take the place of whaling " 

As our hero parted with him and his wife and family all of 
them wished him god-speed and success, and invited him to come 
again ; and they would be pleased to learn of his locating himself 
badly he walked back to Wailuku, in a verv depressed state 
of mind, and could not understand why he should be debarred 
from working at his beloved vocation. Then he wrote fully to 
his wife, explaining at length the attempts he had made and 
giving a terse description of the beautiful country, depicting the 
horrors of the sea trip and his disappointment in obtaining work 
He spent several days in Wailuku, and tramped the valley and 
looked over the surrounding countrv. He became acquainted 
with two old missionaries, and from them learned very much of 
the manners and customs and history of the Hawaiians, as well 
ot the history of the mission and their early trials. One of these 
came out as a teacher and devoted his life to inculcating the 
native youth, especially girls, in the rudiments of education being 
aided by his amiable wife in teaching the details of home keep- 
mg. as sewing, washing, cooking, and all the little arts the knowl- 
edge whereof has made our mothers the true helpmeets thev 
have been to their husbands. He had also introduced cotton and 
endeavored to cultivate it and manufacture clotn. 

The other missionary was a preacher, and conducted services in 
the stone church in the village, as well as maintaining a theologi- 
cal school from which native missionaries were graduated, several 
of whom were sent on missions to the South Seas, while others 
occupied pulpits in the islands. 

Judging from their erudition and kindly natures, it is certain 
that if these men had not felt called to give their lives to leading 
the heathen of the Sandwich Islands to the light, they would have 
risen to eminence amongst their fellowmen of the Eastern States. 
In their homes he was made welcome, and when they became 
acquainted with his abilities and character he was encouraged by 
them to persevere in his endeavors to learn sugar culture, and the 
requisite knowledge of the vernacular of the countrv. Towards 
the latter he was given very valuable assistance and directions 
as to how to learn the language the quickest. 

Having more than a week to wait for an answer to his letter, 



40 The Master Planter; or 



he took every advantage of the time, in company with the aged 
preacher, to study the language ; and during that time he learned 
very much of the hardships the early missionaries passed through. 
The preacher had been one of the fourth reinforcement of the 
Mission to the Hawaiian Islands, making with his wife nineteen 
in all, on board a vessel which was six months in coming around 
Cape Horn. After a passage which must have been one of misery 
from the exceedingly cramped quarters on board, but which was 
never referred to by him other than to speak of the beauties of 
such lands as they saw, and of the extreme kindness of the cap- 
tain and officers of the vessel, they landed at Honolulu, and were 
almost immediately sent off to the Marquesas Islands as prime 
missionaries. 

His wife described the horror of life there, w^hich fortunately 
for them was limited to but eight months, as the English mission 
had undertaken that field. The people were of the lowest type of 
humanity, nude, rude, uncouth, cannibals, thieves, and were terri- 
ble. On their return to Hawaii they were stationed on Kauai 
for nine years, where he learned the language thoroughly and 
labored assiduously amongst the people with great success. On 
his health failing there he was sent to take charge of Lahainaluna 
academy until 1849, when he was given a year's rest, which he 
occupied in surveying on the mountainous region of Maui and 
aiding the natives in procuring titles to their allodial estates. 

In 1856 he accepted a call to the church at Wailuku, where 
our hero met him. He had supervision of several churches in 
the district, and journeyed from one to the other on an ambulat- 
ing old horse, on what was called "the missionary trot." He was 
beloved by all who met him, and the vilest white man or the 
lowest native had a good word to say of him. His salary, or 
stipend, was exceedingly limited ; but they were enabled to rear 
a family of nine children, all of whom received educations above 
the average. The old gentleman was of Kentucky stock, and 
fearless in denouncing any crookedness on the part of the king 
or those in authority, and yet withal so liberal in his views that 
no one could take offense. 

At the golden wedding of the old couple, which is spoken of 
in a later chapter, his oldest son, in an address to the parents, 
said: "By example much more than by precept, you have taught 
us to live for something higher than what the world counts suc- 
cess, and to seek the favor of God more than the praise of men. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 41 



We thank you that you have taught us to be rather than to 
seem; to abhor all that is false and all that is sordid or base ; and 
to cultivate charity, forbearance, humility, and other old-fashioned 
virtues, 

"And thus to bear without abuse 
The grand old name of gentleman. 
Defamed by every charlatan 
And soiled by all ignoble use." 

Truly a character whose name should be enrolled on the scroll 
of fame, and one whom all men should hold up before them as 
an ideal to which they should aspire to shape their lives. 

The following week "Kansas" received an answer from his wife, 
which electrified him. Quick-witted woman ; loving helpmate ; 
she writes, "We have enough to live on for two years, even if you 
should not do a stroke of w^ork during that time. Get a job on a 
plantation on any terms, and learn the language and the business. 
I can earn a living, if necessity compels it, where I am." She 
always appreciated her husband and had taken him "for better 
or for worse," but so far had found him "for better." 

Now he determined the course he should pursue, and we will 
see in the following chapters w'hether she was wise or otherwise. 
A woman's instinct is often better than a man's deeply thought 
out scheme. 

The following morning our hero waited on the Wailuku 
manager, and tendered him his services, in any capacity, and at 
any figure he should offer. The latter flatly refused to employ 
him, saying he could not endure seeing a white man of his stand- 
ing at menial work, suitable only for coolies, and he had no other 
to give him. 

He was loth to leave Wailuku, where he could have the com- 
panionship and instruction of the preacher in wdiose company he 
delighted, and on whose every expression he hung as we have 
seen students in our colleges following the lecture of a great pro- 
fessor. He called on the preacher and told him of his resolution, 
and was iiivited to call at the parsonage whenever he might come 
to Wailuku. 

Bidding his new friend and his charming wife farewell, our 
hero tore himself away. With his roll of blankets on his back 
"Kansas" trudged across the Wailuku sand dunes and plains and 
ascended toward Makawao. Makawao is the name of a large 



42 The Master Planter; or 

part of the western slope of East Maui, and has the reputa- 
tion of being- one of the dreariest parts of the islands, being 
windswept by a zephyr which from old times was called "Ka ua 
ukiukiu o Makawao," (the whistling rain of Makawao). 

Notwithstanding its bleakness, Makawao was noted for the 
richness of its soil, and its concomitant good crops, as well as 
the healthfulness of its inhabitants. It was a weary, hot walk, 
but our hero now had much to occupy his thoughts, and as he 
toiled through the red dust and heat he dwelt with delight on 
the instructive conversations he had enjoyed with the preacher. 

Resolutions and plans for the future were formulated, the suc- 
cess of which would depend upon circumstances. Towards noon 
he came to a plantation and sought out the owner, amongst the 
intricacies of the mill, to whom he applied for work of any kind. 
Many of his appearance had tramped the road before, and the 
planter had good cause to look on them suspiciously. After 
scanning his appearance and questioning him somewhat as to his 
wish to do land-work, for all loose white men were presumed to 
be runaway sailors, he was told that he could have work, "but," 
said the planter, "no one works here who is not shipped, and if 
you are willing to ship your job is ready for you." 

He would not take him unless he signed a contract to work a 
definite time at so much per month, and to do any kind of work 
he was set at, either in the day or night. "Kansas" now found 
that he had obtained what he had so long sought, viz : the oppor- 
tunity to learn the business of sugar planting, and all that implied, 
and determined to accept the terms, no matter what they were. 
The terms offered were "eight dollars per month and found, ten 
hours' work per diem, to work by day or night as directed, 
twenty-four dollars in advance, and to engage for one year." 

The contract was signed in duplicate and acknowledged, and 
"Kansas" was bound to work or be imprisoned. 

He was shown a room, about lo by 12, in a cottage having 
two such rooms and a veranda in common. A bed, table, chair 
and wash-stand completed the furniture. The cottage faced 
towards West Maui, and from the veranda one of the most 
glorious pictures of ever-changing scenery presented itself. He 
soon freed himself from the superfluous real estate collected on 
the long tramp, and after his ablution and a little rest felt that 
he was going to like his new home. Naturally it appeared bar- 
ren and cheerless, but he knew he could soon surround himself 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 43 

with the few necessary comforts, and felt grateful for his suc- 
cess. 

At dinner time he went in with the mechanics, and had a good, 
hearty meal, and was told that he was not expected to go to work 
until the morning. He passed the afternoon in walking about 
the premises, and taking note of the mill and surroundings. The 
planter told his wife that "he had shipped another white man, 
and that he would prove either a jewel or a devil." She remarked 
that his "runaway sailors had not proven to be of much value as 
farm hands." 

The next morning "Kansas" was set at piling firewood, and 
he put in a good day's work. The climate was cool and bracing, 
and he felt that he could do as much work per diem there as in 
California or Kansas. The wood piling initiation lasted but a 
few days, when he was set to work with a Portuguese mason 
building stone walls, of which there were miles on this planta- 
tion. Stone walls had a two- fold purpose, viz: to clear the land 
of rock, which protruded in many places, or to make partitions 
between fields wherein cattle were kept. The Portuguese was a 
good v.'orkman, and the novice took his first lessons in masonry 
willingly. The most of the walls were built by building suitable 
rocks as a base and placing the upper stones on in such regular 
manner that they would stand for all time. Often near the gates 
mortar was used in building, to give the work a clean cut appear- 
ance, so our hero learned stone-wall building, with and without 
mortar, and this lesson was not lost on him. 

After three weeks of this out-door work he was set to washing 
the floors of the sugar-house. There was no other road, he had 
to do as others did, and bravely and good naturedly, in his bare 
feet, he plied the bucket and swab. It was a wretched mill, 
poorly planned, and its machinery was in keeping with it. Novice 
as he was. he could not help noticing that the bagasse, as the 
trash or pulp which came through the rollers was called, was not 
as dry as it should be, and a large percentage of the cane juice 
was thus lost. This bagasse was thrown out and spread on the 
ground surrounding the mill, and there by hand-turning dried 
in the sun for use as fuel, in addition to the large quantities of 
firewood hauled in from the forests. It was the endeavor to 
produce as much No. i sugar as possible, and this caused the 
molasses tank to fill rapidly. Molasses was of very little value 
on account of the high freight and heavy duty at San Francisco. 



44 The Master Planter; or 



The darkey sugar-boiler was a very careful man, and watched 
the cane as it came to the mill, and tried to separate that which 
was rat-eaten or borer-punctured, as those stalks were sour and 
affected the whole mass with which they blended. Still they had 
to go through, and it required a much larger weight of lime to 
be used to correct the acidity ; and also, as a consequence, a cor- 
respondingly less proportion of No. i sugar could be obtained. 
He strained all the juice which came through the rollers, and 
anything which went through his screen rose to the surface of 
the first clarifier, where heat was applied. He seemed to be 
quite secretive in regard to the quantity of lime to be applied, and 
how he arrived at the proper weight to be used. He made good 
sugar, if it was a poor mill, and that satisfied his employer. He 
watched the men working at the train, as the row of open kettles 
was called, and kept them continually sweeping the surface with 
long paddles. He also pursued the firemen to keep up a regular 
flame, a very difficult matter where they had to feed the furnace 
continually with dried bagasse. 

Paddling, bailing, and skimming seemed very hot work, as 
the poorly-ventilated mill appeared to be filled with steam from 
the boiling juice. The mill-men were all natives, who seemed 
willing to turn their hands to anything. They chaffed the man 
from Kansas and told him he could not stand their work. They 
wore only pants made of denims, and the perspiration poured 
down their breasts and backs. He "reckoned he could do any- 
thing that a kanaka could do," and this remark being quoted to 
his employer, he found himself set at "sugar boiling," as the 
boys called it in derision. The sugar-boiler was the best paid 
man on the plantation, but skimm.ers of boiling pots received but 
seven or eight dollars per month. After a few days he found it 
very agreeable work and far from being unhealthy. How his 
wife cried as she read his weekly letter wherein he graphically 
described his life on the plantation. He made no complaints of 
the hardships he endured, on the contrary, described every thing 
in a humorous vein ; but she could read between the lines, and in 
imagination followed him as he stood in the cloud of steam 
skimming the train, or, barefooted, washing the gummy floors. 

He had described the process of drying sugar, and she could 
see him bare-footed and bare-armed tramping in the coolers 
where the boiled juice had crystallized, digging it up and filling 
it into tubs, which by the help of a native were carried to a cen- 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 45 

trifugal and dumped in. This machine was about the size of a 
large wash-tub, and had wire-gauze sides and turned on a spindle 
at the rate of 1600 to 2000 revolutions per minute. 

The centrifugals were enclosed in an iron frame to prevent 
accident in event of explosion. Still accidents happened some- 
times, from the carelessness of the men or from the slipperiness of 
the floors, caused by the dripping of the syrup. Should a man 
become over-balanced and fall into the centrifugal while it was 
in motion, it would be almost certain death. Such an accident 
happened to a poor kanaka who worked in company with our 
hero. 

Our man felt that death had come very near to him that time, 
and imagined the consequences to his wife and little ones should 
he have been the victim of such a catastrophe. When his wife 
read of the accident she wrote him that he was her all, and 
although she had the greatest confidence in him and his careful- 
ness, she urged him for her sake to be careful. The local papers 
made a great ado about the acccident, one editor insinuating that 
the planter was not wholly guiltless of manslaughter in allowing 
the floors to become so sloppy. It had a good effect, in that 
thereafter the floors were kept in somewhat better condition. 
The works were closed for the day and the floors and mill 
cleaned up. 



CHAPTER XII 



SOCIABILITY ON THE PLANTATION AND AT CHURCH — AND HE 
PROVES TO BE A JEWEL" — "kANSAS" MAKING HEADWAY. 

THE planter's wife, a most estimable lady, was accvistomed to 
visiting the makahiki houses, as the quarters was called, 
to look after the comfort of the men and women. During 
our hero's first week she called on him, and told him that ser- 
vices were held in the church in Makawao, and he was welcome 
to the use of a horse to go there if he chose. He took her at 
her word, and the following Sunday morning found him on the 
road to church. It was an exceedingly interesting service to 
him, although the sermon was more or less prosaic. Although 
all were strangers to him, they had the same old hymns to which 
he had been accustomed in his New England home, and he gladly 
joined in the praise service. He had a rich baritone voice; and 
the lady who played the little reed organ seemed to throw her 
whole soul into it. 

The small congregation appeared to pay the strictest attention 
to the sermon, and was very devout. After the service there 
seemed to be a great deal of handshaking and pleasant chit-chat 
amongst the neighbors, but our hero was unnoticed. Not en- 
tirely unnoticed, however, as several asked who he was ; one 
planter, who was a great lover ot music, remarked that he had a 
very fine voice. His employer's wife told that "it was another 
deserting whaler whom her husband had shipped." 

When "Kansas" was untying his horse the preacher's daughter 
came up and offered her hand, saying, "You appear to be a 
stranger in our community, but we are very glad to see you." He 
offered to assist her to her horse, and she accepted the courtesy. 
He opened the gate for her, and as she passed out touched his 
hat to her, but she wheeled her horse about and remarked, "We 
live a mile or so above here, and have an abundance of figs, if 
you would like some." He mounted his horse and was soon be- 
side her. Some of the ladies remarked, "That is just like Mary, 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 47 

shespeaks to every one." However, he had a pleasant chat with 
an intelhgent lady, which he never forgot. He told her that he 
was a contracted laborer on plantation. She said, 

We are glad that you have come to live in our neighborhood " 
and hoped he would come regularly to church. He promised her 
that he would do so, as it made a pleasant break in the week re- 
marking that he considered the keeping of the Sabbath Day holy 
(or wholly) was one of the great reasons why the Anglo-Saxon 
race had taken such a lead in the world's civilization. 

Arrived at the parsonage he was told that he was welcome to all 
the figs he wished— and they were truly delicious. Those large 
purple figs how he revelled in them; they certainly are the most 
delicious of any on the islands. He was 'invited in to lunch, and 
met the aged preacher and his amiable wife, and spent an hour in 
conversation that to him was most instructive. The old eentle- 
man had lived long on the islands, and he and his son and 
daughter had felt _,t their duty to go home and take part in the 

fhn" 7/-. T""',T" ^" *^'' '"^'- ^" ^''^ o^^^ ^\?e the parson had 
thought It advisable to marry again, and in the East had found a 
suitable mate to share his declining years. As fate would have 
it^ a second family^ of two, sprung up to add to their pleasures 

fZ7he m'et'" "°' ^^""^ ''' '"'"'^ °^ ^^^' '' '''' ^'''^'^''^^ 
On his way down the long, tedious road he communed with 
himself recalling the kindness of the mission family at Lahaina 
and that of the two at Wailuku, and of the close friendship whS 
had sprung up between himself and the preacher at the latter 
tT'rL u l'''''^J "^vitations to him to come again when pass- 
^S- ^^'^^'J'^i f ^^f "« class distinction of him in their Asso- 
ciation He felt that the thought he was harboring, that 
the rich made an incisive distinction between themselves and the 
poor laboring class, was erroneous. Was not the distinction 
purely mythical on his part? Was it not engendered from over- 

remaiks? He feared he himself was the originator of such a 
fancied distinction. He knew of the extrenfe hospitability of 
the planters between themselves, as he had noted the frequent 

rZ7f/'f/'^'''''''' °^ ^^^-^^'^"^^ '' tJ^^ plantation, and^con- 
cluded that they were somewhat right in being reserved in taking 
to their firesides people of whose antecedents they knew nothin<? 



48 The Master Planter; or 

For his part he would keep on in the even tenor of his way and 
mind his own business. 

That afternoon the planter's wife visited the quarters, and 
brought some religious papers for his use. She remarked, "I see 
you are accustomed to going to church ; I could tell by your 
familiarity with the hymns." 

"Yes," he answered, "it makes the day pass quicker when one 
goes to hear a sermon, and besides the incentive to spruce up 
keeps a man from getting lazy." She hoped he would go regu- 
larly, and try to induce the mechanics to come. However, she 
offered him the use of the library at the house, provided he did 
not soil the books. Her kindness was so much greater than he 
expected that he felt that he was misjudging the entire com- 
munity. He thanked her for the use of the books, and assured 
her he would be ver>' careful of them. Here indeed was a treat. 

What cared he for the men who looked down upon him on 
account of his poverty, and being a "shipped man," when he 
could have the company of such men as Tyndall, Lyell, Huxley, 
Darwin, Hugh Miller, and a host of other scientific writers, as 
well as of authors of works of fiction too numerous to mention? 
It put new life into him to look forward to the pleasant nights 
he would have in such company. The work was hard and the 
hours long, but neither as hard or long as he had been accustomed 
to in Kansas and California. 

The planter had a very valuable library, selected with good 
judgment by some one who knew what was necessary to keep 
in the country. Of works on the steam engine, chemistry, botany, 
political economy, history, geography, etc., etc., there was a 
plethora, besides a number of periodicals. This privilege of using 
the library was a gift which for once was appreciated to its fullest 
extent. It was like a shower of rain on a thirsty soil. Never in 
his life before could he comprehend so thoroughly what he found 
in books. Day by day he worked away at the mill, doing all kinds 
of work, from firing up, cleaning boiler tubes, cleaning the en- 
gine, skimming, drying sugar, feeding the mill or turning trash 
in the mill grounds in company with native men and women. 

Sometim.es he would be sent with the teams into the woods 
towards the rainy side of the island, for firewood, during which 
trips he learned much of the nature of the Hawaiian forests and 
of that part of the island. He saw the efifect of the pasturing 
of cattle amongst the large trees. They destroyed the dense 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 49 

tropical under-growtli which preserved the moisture, and in a few 
years large trees died. It could be but a matter of a few years 
when the windward slopes of Haleakala would be denuded, and 
this barrenness would affect the rainfall most injuriously to the 
balance of the islands. Sometimes the gang of teamsters would 
be placed under his charge, and he could not but notice with what 
reluctancy they obeyed his orders. He was of the same contracted 
class as themselves, even if he was a white man. Still he got the 
work out of them, and with a little tact succeeded in getting back 
early in the day with satisfactory loads. 

Little by little his employer came to lean on him for service 
of many kinds, and he was frequently on horse-back in all parts 
of the estate, either with a gang of men or carrying orders for 
changes to the different overseers. This gave him a great in- 
sight into cane at different stages of growth, and into the extent 
of the estate. He could see the absolute waste in the attempts 
to cultivate cane on parts which had proven valueless, and also 
he could discern the necessity for correctives and fertilizers to 
certain soils. In so broad an estate there must naturally be a 
variety of soils. To treat all alike, therefore, would be wasteful 
and reprehensible. Still this was exactly what was going on. 

Fortunate indeed was the planter, that prices of sugar ruled so 
high and wages were so low. Nature had done so much in sup- 
plying a rich soil, brilliant sunlight, and wind, and ample rain, 
if man only had the requisite knowledge to take advantage of 
those blessings. "Kansas" noted the errors made or permitted, 
and also made note of what he would have done if he was the 
owner. Of course it would be out of place for him to offer sug- 
gestions, but at times he did so when opportunity favored it, or 
when his opinion was asked. 

His employer told, at the table, that he had said "that 'Kansas' 
would either prove to be a jewel or a devil, and he proves to be a 
jewel !" His wife remarked that "Kansas" was a great reader. 
Her husband said, "i do not care how much he reads, as long as 
he does my Avork well, and I must say he is the only zvhite trash 
I have ever met who does well and quickly everything that is 
entrusted to his care. I sent him with the teams over into the 
forest for wood and he was back here in half a day, whereas any 
luna I ever sent before always managed to keep the boys and 
cattle away until night. He can build a stone wall as good as 



50 The Master Planter, 

Portuguese Joe. Bob White says he knows as much of the prin- 
ciples of the steam engine as he does, and I guess he is right 
about that, although Bob is pretty handy when anything is broken 
down. I have an idea that the fellow could boil sugar. Old John 
has to go to Lahaina on the jury next week, and I have a notion 
to give 'Kansas' a show to see what he can do in that line." 



CHAPTER XIII 

SOME INTERESTING DETAILS OF PLANTATION WORK — THE EN- 
TRANCING HALEAKALA TRIP AND WHAT IT REVEALS. 

THE following week, when John was off to Lahaina, our hero 
was set at sugar boiling, although under the eye of the 
planter, who was himself a master hand. He got along 
famously, in fact he was surprised that there was so little in it. 
As the juice came in from the rollers he skimmed or rather 
strained it, for naturally much fungus which grows on all cane, 
came over as well as detritus of other descriptions. Judging by 
the taste and color of the juice, he could tell if acid prevailed in 
injurious percentage. In such case lime was applied, but great 
care was used in this respect, as the chemical action of the lime 
on the saccharine matter prevented crystallization to some extent, 
and also changed the nature of the product. 

When heat was applied in the container in which the juice was 
received it caused all extraneous matter to rise to the surface, 
from whence it was skimmed, and the heated juice was again 
strained before gomg into the first of the train of boiling pots. 
Here it was boiled and evaporated to a certain consistency, deter- 
mined by the saccharometer. and finally its proof density was 
determined by hand-testing. It was then conveyed to large tanks, 
which were probably 15 inches deep, and presented a large surface 
to the atmosphere, where it was allowed to crystallize, and from 
whence it was carried to the centrifugals. 

Patience, watchfulness, and prompt action to arrest the graining 
at the proper stage — that was all, excepting the prime necessity 
of keeping all the kettles scrupulously clean and free from fer- 
mentation. For two days the planter fumed and puffed about 
the mill, which was as much as he could endure, and the third day 
he was off to the port of Kahului, where his vessels lay at anchor. 
He said, "Now 'Kansas', be careful and do not burn that sugar, 
a strike is worth more than your year's wages !" and he departed 
leaving our hero in charge of the mill and all the men therein. 



52 The Master Planter; or 

There was no sugar burned there, and if the planter had been 
a little more observing he would have noticed that the output was 
a little larger for the next three days. He had taken note of old 
John's watching for rat-eaten or borer-punctured cane, or that 
which had not reached its proper stage of ripeness, and set such 
aside to be either destroyed or ground together. He soon learned 
from the color of the juice, as well as the taste, the requisite 
weight of lime to use as a corrective to the acidity. By the 
saccharometer he discerned the difference in the density of the 
juices from dift'erent helds, and formed an opinion of the causes 
of the difference. 

He was too good a farmer not to know that sugar is made in 
the fields, and not by any chemical concoction in the mill. The 
essentiality of preserving the crop at the mill and curtailing all 
waste there was also very apparent. Where proper cultivation 
was used, and the cane kept clean, that is, stripped regularly of 
the older leaves within which the borer lays its eggs, and where 
the puncturing is done by it, the yield of juice was not only greater 
but its percentage of saccharine matter was much higher. 

Our hero reveled in the delights of every part of sugar culti- 
vation — the plowing, manuring, cultivating, stripping, and har- 
vesting the crop. The different stages of labor he went through, 
instead of being laborious, irksome and unpleasant were done by 
him with a cheerfulness and earnestness and watchfulness which 
could produce none other than an appreciation by his employer, 
and which would create a lasting impression on his part. 

The bracing climate of Makawao, and his care of his person, 
combined to ensure him good health, and he grew robust and 
tough in all his muscles. Frequent long and hard rides made 
him a good horseman, and every opportunity was taken by him 
to learn the geography of the island as far into the Koolau 
country as the district of Hana. Situated at such an elevation 
as he was, he had a continual view of West Maui and the beauti- 
ful villages along that range of mountains, together \\n\h their 
w^hitewashed mills and churches. It truly was one of the most 
beautiful landscapes to be found in any part of the world, with 
its variegated colors, the sea and the land, the light and shade, 
and the view into the great valleys. 

"Kansas" was not always confined to the plantation, and on 
more than one occasion had been detailed to travel with a party 
to Ulupalakua, a fine plantation owned by Capt. Makee, situated 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 53 

on the other shoulder of the great mountain. This was at an 
elevation from 1800 to 2500 feet above sea level, and where they 
were entirely dependent on the rainfall for their crop and for 
living purposes. The owner was truly one of nature's noblemen, 
and delighted in entertaining his neighbors or strangers from all 
parts of the world. He was very broad in his views and liberal 
to a degree. He was always pleased to have an opportunity to 
converse with men from whom he might possibly learn some- 
thing, and was no respecter of men's clothing. 

The first time "Kansas" was there the Captain noticed with 
what assiduity he cared for the horses, apparently being as solici- 
tous for their welfare as for himself. He, although anxious that 
the stock should have water, saw that they did not get much until 
they were cool enough from their journey, that it would not in- 
jure them. Then he took care that they had plenty of rich cane 
tops, and fed them himself. 

These little matters attracted the Captain's attention, and he 
took the first opportunity to get into conversation with our hero. 
Like all the old sea-dogs, he was addicted to an early cup of 
coffee, and seeking out "Kansas" he invited him to partake of 
coffee and johnny-cake with him. 

"Kansas" had climbed to Prospect Hill, a knoll planted to 
eucalyptus by the owner's directions, and from where a good 
view of Ulupalakua plantation and the vicinity was to be obtained. 
He was asked as to his opinion of the site for a plantation, and 
of the soil. The Captain was surprised to note the wealth of 
knowledge that this hostler had in regard to agricultural matters 
in general, and of the notice he had taken of the immediate sur- 
roundings. 

During the three days the party remained there the Captain, 
without any apparent neglect of his guests, sought as much as 
possible of "Kansas's" company. At other times, when he visited 
there, he was made as welcome as if he was one of the nabobs of 
the islands: and when Capt. Makee visited Makawao, he asked 
for "Kansas" and showed him every courtesy, to the astonish- 
ment of both his employer and the mechanics of the place. We 
will see in later chapters how this acquaintance ripened into 
friendship, and to the Captain's financial benefit. "Kansas" was 
frequently at Wailuku and Waihee, and renewed his acquaint- 
ance with those whom he had learned to appreciate in those 
villasfes. 



54 The Master Planter; or 



At one time he was sent with a party to Haleakala, the huge 
mountain, 10,000 feet high, at the base of which his plantation 
was situated. The party consisted of a U. S. Geological Com- 
missioner, two islanders and the guide, a missionary's son, who 
lived well up the mountain and was familiar with the intricacies 
of the numerous trails which crossed and recrossed each other in 
a thousand directions. They started early in the day and at even- 
ing were at the summit. 

From this point the view is grand, all the islands of the group 
being in sight, the overhanging cloud effect entrancing the tourist 
and chaining him to the spot. The horses were quickly tethered, 
and a large lot of firewood collected from the scrubby growth of 
brittle shrubs which covers the surrounding country. After the 
sunlight had diminished the cold was intense, and the party 
bivouacked in a cave at a little distance below the summit. Hav- 
ing disposed of supper, the party grouped themselves about the 
fire at the entrance to the cave, when "volcanoes and their causes" 
were discussed. 

The Commissioner had traveled over Yucatan, Mexico and the 
southwestern States and Territories of the Union; had visited 
and followed the wonderful Colorado river from its source to its 
mouth in the Gulf of California, and had formed his theories of 
subterranean forces. 

He had visited Kilauea, ]Mauna Loa, Hualalai and Mauna Kea 
on the island of Hawaii, and remarked on the peculiar absence of 
manv of the volcanic products found in other parts of the world. 
He reasoned on the difference between aa and pahochoe, forma- 
tions in the flows on Hav.'aii. Spoke of the rapidity with which 
these corroded, disintegrated and dissolved, and of their forming 
soil of the finest character in so short a period. 

Our hero was entranced with the conversation, and although 
it was his duty to "fire up" and care for the trembling horses, he 
was loth to leaA'-e the circle of discerning educated gentlemen long 
enough to properly attend to these. The Commissioner noted 
with what interest he listened to the conversation, and, as the 
fleas drove sleep from the eyes of the weary party, he continued 
the conversation on through the night. It w^as "a feast of reason 
and flow of soul" which needed no artificial stimulant to sustain. 

At dawn they were on top of the mountain watching for the 
coming of the glorious orb of day. This is one of the grandest 
sights it is in the power of man to obtain. The face of the earth 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haivaii. 55 



was buried in cloud, excepting the pinnacle upon which the party 
stood. Presently the bright rays of the rising sun pierced the 
eastern horizon sufficiently to lighten up the whole upper surface 
of tile downy strata which covered mother earth, and then the 
brilliant disc seemed to burst from the shroud which enfolded it, 
and Sol, in all his glory, began his diurnal journey. Rising majes- 
tically, he appeared to draw up with him a large part of the 
downy strata he had cleft, which presently appeared to fall back 
to its place, as a saucer might adhere to a cup. The upper sur- 
faces of the clouds are by no means level, in fact present the 
appearance of an undulating country covered with snow. 

A slight breeze occurring cleared away the portion of clouds 
which covered the immense crater of Haleakala, and exposed to 
view what the Commissioner denominated the largest caldera 
known. He iised this term in contradistinction to volcano, in 
that a caldera may be described as a pit in which numerous vol- 
canic cones have been formed. 

The Commissioner purposed visiting the floor of the caldera, 
from which journey some of the party excused themselves, as 
the ascent therefrom would be more of a task than their weak 
lungs could stand. The atmosphere, at this elevation, is exceed- 
ingly rare, and some complained of nausea. 

It was arranged that our hero should accompany the Commis- 
sioner and another member of the party, the guide offering to take 
charge of the horses. The balance of the party proposed secur- 
ing some specimens of the silver sword (argyroxiphium Sand- 
zmcense), which is found only at this elevation. Flocks of wild 
goats also attracted their attention, and promised some good 
shooting. 

The party began the descent into the crater, and went with such 
Titan strides down the black scoriae of which the sides were com- 
posed, that they were soon on the floor. Many of what appeared 
to be sand-dunes from the top of the mountain were found to 
be craters, some of which were 500 feet in height. They wan- 
dered around some, and the feasibility of riding into the crater 
was discovered and the Commissioner determined to send for the 
horses and ride out on the Koolau side. 

Our hero proffered to go and bring the party, and leaving one 
canteen of water he commenced the ascent. He found that what 
took but a few minutes to descend required much longer time 
to ascend. The rarity of the atmosphere, which made exertion 



56 The Master Planter; or 



difficult, the great heat of the sun, from which there was no 
shelter, and the ever-moving scoriae, made his task a hard one. 
However, Yankee grit "will get there," as the boys say, and he 
was soon on the siunmit. The party refused to go farther with 
the Commissioner, and taking the guide with them left our hero, 
with the water, provisions, and three horses. 

Riding round to the entrance of the opening, and leading the 
other horses and baggage, he finally reached the party on the floor. 

They now started for the windward side of the island, through 
the crater, and having reached the Kaupo gap at an elevation of 
7600 feet, were forced to camp. The lack of water for the horses 
was the only drawback. There is a hole where water may be 
found at most seasons, but they were unable to discover it. 
Bright and early in the following morning they began the descent, 
and after riding through a most precipitous country arrived at 
the sea. Turning easterly they arrived at Hana long after night- 
fall, the whole party badly used up. 

The Commissioner kept up the interest in the ride by calling 
attention to the peculiar formation of the innumerable precipi- 
tous gulches which they crossed, the great tree-ferns with their 
weird and wonderful fronds. The sides of these gulches or 
ravines were densely covered with vegetation, over which climbed 
the ieie, wild nasturtiums, and convolvulus vines. Many moun- 
tain-apple trees were seen, peculiar in that their magenta blos- 
soms grew immediately from the trunk or large limbs rather than 
from the ends of branches. The small valleys in those ravines all 
appeared to have more or less signs of cultivation or of having 
been cultivated. Several native houses were passed, the inhabi- 
tants invariably inviting the travellers to rest and eat. At one 
house, newer than the others, they took lunch, the native prepar- 
ing chicken in a marvelously short time. Here the gentlemen 
submitted themselves to the operation of lomilomi, which they 
admitted was very restful. It is merely a kneading of the mus- 
cles by hands which are accustomed to the operation. 

At Hana the gentleman with the Commissioner decided that he 
could not undertake a return journey, and they agreed to return 
in a boat to Haiku. They directed "Kansas" to lead the horses 
back to Makawao, and he started away by the lower road through 
the Koolau country, arriving at Makawao after a two days' jour- 
ney of danger and difficulty. Crossing many of the streams was 
very risky at times, as those streams were subject to sudden rises 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 57 



of water, and there were no brids^es. He felt thankful for a 
safe return, and yet amply repaid for all his care and anxiety 
by the store of knowledge he had acquired, not only from the 
Commissioner and his companion, but from the knowledge of that 
well watered country, the sources of whose streams he had wit- 
nessed. He had also made the acquaintance of the Commissioner, 
which was not only renewed in a few days, but which in after 
years in Washington proved mutually agreeable. 



CHAPTER XIV 



PHASES OF PLANTATION LIFE — NATIVE LANGUAGE AND LORE — 

NATIVE DIVISIONS OF LAND DYESTUFFS USED 

BY THE HAWAIIANS. 

OUR man was sent, the boiling season being over 
for a time, into the fields with a gang of men 
to clear away the fields and prepare the rattoon 
or volunteer crop. The fields were run over with fire 
and all the superfluous leaves and weeds destroyed and 
the cane given a chance to again sprout. As this plantation was 
not under irrigation, and the cane was planted at different eleva- 
tions, some of it was ripe whilst other parts were just being 
planted. With a gang he undertook stripping, which is one of 
the hardest jobs on the plantation, not only on account of the ex- 
treme heat in the center of a field, but from the sharp serrated 
leaves of the cane whose edges cut like a saw and knife com- 
bined, when by accident the leaves are not properly grasped, or 
a jerk of the arm throws the back of the hand against a project- 
ing leaf. He worked as faithfully at this stripping as at any 
other work he had been set at, and soon found that by attacking a 
stalk systematically and grasping the leaves firmly from the base 
upward, they all came away freely. 

He saw the utility of the work, for the eggs of the borer could 
be seen in many a leaf stalk ready to be hatched and get in its 
deadly work on the cane. Also, the cane appeared to thrive better 
when the effete leaves were removed and the wind had an oppor- 
tunity to clear away the hairlike fungus which covered the stalk 
at the base of the leaves. The natives jeered him, and challenged 
him to race across the field. He found that he could not compete 
with some of the older hands, who were adepts at the work, and 
with one sweep could clean a stalk. Still he persevered and soon 
became quite quick at the work. The leaves, being stripped, were 
thrown in between the rows, and after the cane was cut fire was 
allowed to run over the field, cleaning it of all trash and vermin. 
In this our agriculturist felt that a great waste was committed, 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 59 

for although the ashes was a very good complement to the soil 
and the fire a grand vermin exterminator, he contended that it 
v^ould pay well to carry all to a small valley and there make a 
great pile of compost against planting time. 

It was noticeable the rankness with which the cane grew in 
certain valleys where the rains were slow in percolating the soil, 
also on some slopes where the actinic rays of the sun could 
operate to best advantage. He frequently studied out what would 
be the difference in the total crop of this plantation if water could 
be obtained to put it all under irrigation. He had made frequent 
Sunday excursions into the woods, or wet country, on the wind- 
ward side of the island, and had crossed the innumerable valleys, 
both above and below, which lay between the plantation and 
the Hana district, and had noticed the loss of water in those 
ravines by percolation. He came to the conclusion that by tapping 
those streams at a good elevation water could be brought round to 
the leeward in supply only limited by the aqueduct, and probably 
sufficient to irrigate ten times the land under cultivation, and 
make the aggregate product four times what it was. He kept 
his counsel against the future, but his Yankee brain was at work. 

He had now worked ten months on the plantation, and felt 
competent to fill any position. He had very little company on 
the ranch among the employees, as the hands cared very little for 
the work or improvements in it. Still, some of them passed their 
evenings at his cottage, and made use of his numerous papers 
and magazines. Whenever any fancied improvement could be 
made he had made note of it in a m.emorandum book carried for 
that purpose, a custom which he had pursued for many years. He 
believed in nailing a passing thought, and in enlarging upon it 
when writing up his daily journal. When he heard a new word 
amongst the native hands he invariably looked it up in his dic- 
tionary, and this course improved his knowledge of the vernacu- 
lar in a remarkable degree, and in after years proved of great 
value to him. 

The native language was the medium of conversation between 
the Chinese and other laborers, and a perfect knowledge of it was 
necessary. He had systematically and diligently studied it from 
the time he first met the preacher at Wailuku. He had procured 
a phrase book, a grammar, and a Hawaiian-English English- 
Hawaiian dictionary, and being acquainted with the Spanish and 
French languages he easily acquired the proper pronunciation. 



60 The Master Planter; or 



Still he always felt that he had learned more from the New Testa- 
ment, which was printed in parallel columns of Hawaiian and 
English. It had been translated from the Greek direct, with 
which he was also familiar, by a master hand, and by the time he 
had read it through he was spoken of by the natives as one who 
spoke their language as fluently as they did. 

He often surprised the younger generation by using words 
with which they were not familiar. He learned many of the 
meles, or chants, from the elder Hawaiians, who had received 
them from those whose duty it was to learn and pass down 
the genealogies and history of chiefs by song and saga. He 
was surprised at the extent of the vocabularies of some of 
even the common laborers who went with him to the woods. 
They could tell the name of every tree, plant or weed that 
grew there. They could enumerate hundreds of kinds of fishes, 
some of which had different names at different ages. 

When it became bruited abroad that "Kansas" was a Ha- 
waiian scholar, his company was sought by some of the 
chiefs and kahunas, or doctor priests. At the house of a 
chief named Hikiau, who had been a warrior and favorite of 
Kamehameha, he frequently met some of the old-time people 
who freely discussed with him the arts and sciences of the 
ancient Hawaiians. They described their weapons of war, 
and from what woods made, and where those woods were ob- 
tained. Also the woods best adapted to the manufacture of 
culinary vessels and for the few agricultural implements re- 
quired. 

Their knowledge of the medicinal properties of certain 
herbs, and of the vegetable poisons, was quite extensive, of 
which he invariably made note. He was much surprised to 
note their knowledge of dyes and pigments used in dying 
their cloth and in painting their canoes, etc. To illustrate 
their knowledge of paints, his notes show that to make oil 
they expressed the kernels of the kukui nut by means of a 
lever. The residue was burned and the dense smoke arising 
therefromi was caught in an inverted calabash, from which 
came their fine lamp-black. In tatooing they used the green 
juice of the covering of the kukui, mixed with the pulverized 
carbonized shell of the same. This made an indelible black. 
For a yellow dye the turmeric root was used. Certain flow^ers 
were used to obtain the bright pinks and reds, although by 
no means lasting. Sepia from the squid was also used as a 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haivaii. 61 

dye. To dye black they frequently steeped the kapa"' (made 
from the wauke) in taro patches, the oxide of iron therein 
contained giving them a permanent color. 

These discussions with the natives w^ere exceedingly inter- 
esting, and he seldom passed a Sunday afternoon without 
learning something of the wisdom of the natives. Their 
divisions of land were so peculiar that he made diligent study 
into the origin of title to real property, and even took the 
trouble to visit, in company with one acquainted, the crater 
of Haleakala to see what was the matrix from which the 
boundary lines of all the divisions of East Maui were ob- 
tained. It was a large flat stone, called Pohakupalahalaha, 
the cracks, natural or artificial, radiating fronn the center of 
which, on being extended, were held to be boundary lines for 
the different ahupuaas, as the divisions were called. It was 
a remarkably simple division, and as it had supernatural au- 
thority for its embellishment, was respected by all. Thus 
germinating at a single point in the center of the island, and 
widening out at the sea, there was given to each chief and his 
tribe a land which would supply all the simple necessaries of 
life. At the seafront he had his fishing rights ; a little above 
land suitable for cultivating taro and sweet potatoes ; then the 
woods for his yams, canoes and fuel ; farther up his indis- 
pensible ti land; then his hardwood land for weapons and 
domestic and agricultural implements ; then his grass land 
for thatching his house; and finally the land of the fragrant 
sandal-wood for barter. In the bordering ravines grew the 
bamboo, so useful for house building and for fishing purposes, 
as well as the wauke and olona.f from which he made his 
cloth, twine and nets. 

The ancient tenure of real property was very insecure and 
depended largely on the whim of the chiefs who, with their 
satellites, rode rough-shod over the common people. "Hemo 
oe," (you are out) if said by a chief would throw a man and 
his family onto the world fromi lands they had occupied for 
generations. The feudal system prevailed in all its severity 

* Kapa, a cloth (sometimes called tapa) made generally, from the 
inner bark of the wauke, a species of the mulberry. 

t Olona. a shrub, the bark of which when dressed resembles bleached 
hemp or flax, and is made into small cords. Olona is also the name of 
the cord itself. The name is also given to animal tendons or ligaments. 



62 The Master Planter. 



and absoluteness. Of course all this was now changed since 
the Great Mahele, or division of lands under Kamehameha 
III. He called on all chiefs and commoners to bring in their 
proofs of ownership or of residence and cultivation, and give 
them up to him ; he then issued Royal Patents to such as made 
satisfactory proofs of title by prescription, they paying into the 
treasury a commutation and the cost of surveying. 



CHAPTER XV 

MORE HAWAIIAN LORE: LAND TENURE — TABU SYSTEM — PRIMITIVE 

TOOLS AND PATIENT LABOR — WHERE FELL THE 

CHIVALRY OF HAWAII. 

THE titles given at the Great Division of lands were allodial, 
that is, free from military burden and other service to an 
overlord or chief, excepting such taxes as the regular 
legislature might impose, the government, however, re- 
serving any minerals which might be discovered. To the 
chiefs were granted such ahupuaas or large divisions as they 
had inherited or possessed, excepting such lands as had or 
would be awarded to the common people within the peripheries 
thereof. 

]\Iany chiefs induced their people to refrain from applying 
for lands, promising to allow them to live on them for ever. 
At the same time a law was passed that in event of the 
grantee and his heirs dying out, the small lands should not 
escheat to the government but to the owner of the ahupuaa 
in which they were situated. 

Islands were divided into districts, mokus, ahupuaas, ilis, 
kalanas, kuleanas and leles, and in Honolulu into house lots. 

Fishing rights were another peculiar feature of the ancient 
government, and many such remain to this day. A chief 
would claim a certain fish amongst all which frequented the 
waters opposite his land, and when the fisherman brought 
in his catch the konohiki, or agent of the chief, would insist 
on that one kind of fish as his perquisite. Otherwise the sea 
was open to all. 

Again the king took all the flotsam and jetsam which came 
to the coasts of any part, and whale bone or teeth was his 
especial perquisite. 

The tabu system was very onerous and burdensome on the 
people. A particular bird would be ordered to be tabued to 
the king, or a chief, and woe betide the bird-catcher who did 
not make returns of all such as was caught by the bird-lime 



64 The Master Planter; or 



smeared on the trees by him. Women were not permitted to 
eat many things that it was proper for men — as pork, fish of 
some kinds, bananas, cocoanuts, etc. Of course, they did do 
so, but had to do it surreptitiously, and many were put to 
death when informed on by enemies. 

The men did most of the work of cultivating and prepar- 
ing the food, and in this respect differed from the Indians of 
North America. In fact, women, amongst the Hawaiians, stood 
on a higher plane than among other races. 

The origin of a distinction between chiefs and commoners 
was told to "Kansas" in this way, viz.: that originally all men 
were chiefs and some fell from their high estate and became 
vagabonds and servants or slaves amongst strangers, and mul- 
tiplied. This is the opposite of the white man's theory, viz. : 
that all were commoners, but by physical superiority some 
succeeded in getting their fellows down or to cause them- 
selves to be looked up to. 

The konohiki of the chief would ruthlessly take the poor 
man's pig or fowls without any thought of remuneration, and 
his taro would be sequestered whenever it pleased the chief 
or his satellites to take it. A man could never know what was 
his own, whether it was his wife or daughter, animal or 
product of his labor. Notwithstanding all the hardship which 
the people endured and the absolutism under which they 
lived, they throve and multiplied and probably would have 
kept on doing so but for the advent of the white man and the 
introduction by him of disease, rum, a superficial demand for 
luxuries, and the breaking up of their homies. 

When first the white man came he found the natives a hospi- 
table, friendly race, willing to be led to the right and respecting 
the superior wisdom of the stranger. They are still a hospitable, 
kindly people, who are in no ways malicious or vindictive. 

One of the phases of life amongst the ancient Hawaiians 
was their indefatigable perseverance and application in work- 
ing up tools, weapons, and culinary vessels from the hardest 
of woods with the simple instruments of stone which they 
had. A certain quality of flint was found on the higher eleva- 
tions on the mountains of Hawaii and Maui, which they 
deftly split and tied to the fork of a small branch of a tree 
and used as an adze. This was their main tool, and with it 
was ■ fashioned the remarkably symmetrical calabashes and 
canoes so largely used by them. In cutting down the im- 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haicoii. 65 

mense trees from which their canoes were made, the labor, 
with such instrumients, was enormous. Stone axes and poi- 
pestles were, by these flint adzes, fashioned from hard vol- 
canic stones, as well as maika ''' stones, which they used in a 
favorite game. 

When an enemy conquered a part of an island and felt they 
could not hold it, they ruthlessly destroyed any fruit trees, as 
the cocoanut or breadfruit. This was an enormous task, but 
they would sit around the bole of the tree, as many as could 
get near it, and the incessant tunking at it with their blunt 
instruments would bring the monarch to the ground. As a 
sample of rude barbarism this is only excelled by the modern 
bombarding of cities and the destruction of the homes of non- 
combatants of our day. 

The canoes and calabashes, having been shaped by the rude 
tool, were finished by hand. Pumice stone from the volcano 
was used to rub down the inequalities left by the tool, and 
shark skin, and breadfruit leaves were used for the final 
polish. These calabashes were so symmetrically made, that 
although round bottom<ed they could be filled with water 
without tilting. Better work cannot be done on a lathe by 
an experienced turner. 

Printing by moveable blocks was well understood by old Ha- 
waiians. That is, innumerable blocks with exceedingly beau- 
tiful designs, were kept by experts by which they applied rare 
patterns to the quilts and cloaks or capes of the chiefs. Our 
hero has seen hundreds of these printing blocks, and learned 
from the natives the pigments used by them in making the 
colored inks which they applied in making the beautiful pat- 
terns on those garments. Some were oil colors and others 
water-colors, both of which were prepared by rubbing up the 
pigment between smooth stones, and then, mixing with either 
water or oil, they were applied in the same .manner as we have 
seen wallpaper manufacturers apply their designs by hand. 
A native friend of "Kansas" had a large collection of these 
beautiful designs, which evidently had been made not only 
by natural artists but by an infinitude of labor from bamboo 
or hard woods. 

* Maika, was a name given hy ancient Hawaiians to a round, smooth 
stone, and to the game in which it was played. The stone was also 
called ulu or olohu. The game required much muscular exertion, and 
the result was wagered upon. 



(^ The Master Planter ; or 



Those skilled in carving or sculpture were much respected 
by the masses, and had the appellation "kahuna kalaiwaa," or 
one skilled in canoe making or other such work, and were 
supposed to have occult powers. 

Our hero asked such a one if he made gods. He replied 
that formerly he did so but now he could not do it. On being 
asked if there was no more demand for such, he answered 
that some people still came to him, men who were kahunas 
and lived on the superstitions of the credulous. 

He said "that all the gods of the ancient times, whether 
made of wood or feathers, or of stone, were ugly and fierce- 
looking gods, and their power lay in the teachings of the 
priests, who said they were angry or would be if any taboos 
were broken or if they were opposed by any one. Our God, 
said he. cannot be angry, he is a God of love. It is therefore 
impossible to make a god which will be angry, as there is no 
such thing. God made us all and he loves us the same as we 
love and admire anything that we make with much labor, 
and it would be only laughable to try to impersonate a being 
so pleasant and who dwelt in the hearts of all his creatures." 

"Kansas" was surprised to hear such expressions fromi a 
kanaka, probably a grandson of a veritable pagan, but as he came 
nearer in thought to the people he found that the teachings 
of the missionaries had taken a deeper hold on them than 
many gave credit for. Having been brought up a Puritan, he 
had been taught to fear God, and the threat of hell had been 
constantly held up before him, and lo! and behold, away out 
in the Pacific he was learning a broader religion. 

To revert to canoe making, which was the largest industry 
among the ancients : When it was determined to make a 
canoe a skilled man was brought into the woods to select a 
tree. Naturally he used a certain amount of incantation to 
impress upon the people his supernatural powers, but in 
reality he was shrewd in many ways. He would select a tree 
suitable, first in being capable of being removed when the 
Avork was complete. Secondly, one which was sound and of 
the proper length in the main trunk ; and of several would 
take the one which was the easiest to work at. 

In the tropical forests all large trees are covered with para- 
sitical climbers, the cutting away of which w^ith the rude in- 
truments they had was almost as much labor as to fell the 
mammoth. This done, while as many as could get near the 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazuaii. 67 

base hewed at it with their stone axes, others were above 
working on the immense Hmbs. They made it faU in the 
proper direction by hauhng on it with ropes made of the ieie vine 
— and then the real work began. 

Only on some kinds of wood was fire used to gouge out the 
interior; the main work was done with the flint adzes both 
within and without. When finished and painted and to cele- 
brate the great work, a feast followed, as we celebrate a birth- 
day. 

If we can imagine the immense fleet of canoes which Kala- 
niopuu brought from Hawaii in his attempted conquering of 
Maui, and which was said to be so enormous that the four- 
mile beach between Makena and Kalepolepo was not long 
enough for each canoe to put its prow on shore, and the men 
had to climb over the canoes which could touch, we can have 
some idea of the huge canoe-building enterprise which pre- 
ceded the formation of this armada. Singularly, this armada 
was even more disastrous to its promoters than the fate which 
met the Spaniard in his attempt to subjugate the Anglo-Saxon, 
for here fell the chivalry of Hawaii, from which shock it never 
recovered. Six hundred chiefs fell in one battle, and with them 
perished much of the learning and glory of the ancients.* 

* Kalaniopiui, King of Western Hawaii, was born in 1752. In 1778 he 
waged a disastrous war again^st Kahehili, King of Maui, and Kame- 
hameha then fought as a soldier under his banner. Kalaniopuu died in 
April, 1782, leaving his Icingdom to his son, Kiwalao. About three 
months later, in a battle between Kamehameha and Kiwalao and his 
party at Keomo, Hawaii, Kamehameha triumphed, Kiwalao was slain, 
and Keona became King of Kau and Puna. 



CHAPTER XVI 



THE HAWAIIANS: WHENCE CAME THEY AND THE FLORA OF THEIR 
ISLANDS? — THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 

**T/'ANSAS" having studied botany in connection with his 
JV business of gardening and nursery keeping, was prob- 
ably more interested in the flora of the islands than 
the ordinary visitor. He noted the great number of trees 
and plants found on the islands which were similar to those 
growing on islands at great distances toward the South and 
West. This group was isolated by nearly 2000 males from 
the nearest islands of the Pacific and from which these fiora 
must have come. They had evidently been carried by the 
people in olden times in their migrations, as otherwise their 
presence could not be accounted for. 

He had learned from the song and saga of the natives that 
the first immigrants had come up from the Southern seas. 
They had evidently brought with them such seeds or cuttings 
of useful trees as they had been accustomed to, and whose 
qualities, medicinal or otherwise, were requisite in their do- 
mestic economy. The cocoa-nut, probably the most useful 
to all savage races of all the fruit trees, could by no possible 
current have been carried to these islands.* The same could 

* This positive statement is open to criticism. It may be a fact that 
coeoanuts were brought to these islands by people in boats, and that none 
ever drifted here in ocean, currents; still there seems to be authority for 
the statement that boats adrift at sea have been brought to these shores, 
by wind and currents, and if boats why not coeoanuts, or any other 
flotsam? There is a legend that in early days a Japanese junk drifted 
ashore at Waialua, on Oahu; and so late as 1898 a little schooner from 
Tahiti, the "Tetautua," which tried to make Penrhyn from Scilly island, 
lost its course and reckoning, if it ever had any, and landed at Hookena, 
Hawaii — more than 2,000 miles away — a strange land to the people 
abroad. (Vide twelfth report of the Hawaiian Historical Society). In- 
formation obtained from a legendary source may be taken with a "pinch 
of salt"; this applies to the junkstory, of course, but it also has relevancy 
to the flora, and people, that were on these islands when written history 
commenced. In other words, legends stand as we receive them, often, 
only because we are unable to disprove them. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 69 

be said of the bread-fruit, a seedless tree, only propagated 
from shoots from the roots. 

The dissemanation of plants and trees amongst the various 
atols, islands and archipelagoes of the Pacific is accounted for 
in many ways, principally by currents, winds, birds, and lastly 
and perhaps greatest, by human means. Very favorite trees 
as the kou, milo, hau, kamani, kukui, ti, wauke, ohia, ai ; and 
amongst plants the sugar cane, yam, pia, awapuhi, olona, 
banana, taro, ape, uala, calabash, bottle-gourd, and awa or 
piper methysticiim, are such as have no doubt been brought by the 
original inhabitants. 

The study of botany and the affinity of those on the Ha- 
waiian Islands to similar growths found elsewhere, may be 
of some aid in tracing the origin of this peculiar people. 
Others have endeavored to trace their origin by studying and 
comparing their language, manners and customs, religion, 
and similarity of habits with peoples of continents or other 
groups of islands, and have concluded that their ancestors 
came from Asia through the chain of islands running south- 
east from India to Australia. 

The discovery of the Hawaiian archipelago and the mdgra- 
tions which have followed would conclusively prove that a 
greater knowledge of navigation and astronomy was possessed 
by the ancients than we have given them credit for. All im- 
migrants have named new localities in accordance with names 
in the beloved land from which they emigrated. In America 
we find Plymouth, New Bedford, New Orleans, Nuevo Leon, 
etc., and by this means it is possible to trace the origin of 
the early settlers of those places, even should literature be 
utterly destroyed. We find in Hawaii names of districts 
similar to those in the older islands of Java and Sumatra, 
such as Hawaii (Java-iki), Hamakua, Koolau, Waimea, etc. 
The fact of finding so many trees and plants similar to those 
of the East Indies, which by no natural m<eans could have been 
carried to this distant, isolated group, would confirm the im- 
pression that the Hawaiians emigrated from that part of the 
w^orld. 

"Kansas" delighted to make use of his Yankee inquisitive- 
ness, and make inquiry as to the names and various uses each 
plant or tree was put to by the natives, and was continually 
surprised to note the great knowledge they had of the flora 



70 The Master Planter ; or 

of the islands. Naturally, amongst a people so circumscribed 
as the Hawaiians, and whose horizon was so limited, their at- 
tention would be turned to the resources of their own country. 

Every thing that was edible was known to them, many of 
which without the action of fire or condiments would be de- 
leterious. Emergencies had caused them to use plants that 
otherwise would not be eaten. Thus we find that the root of 
the tree-fern was in times of famine resorted to to sustain life. 
From the fronds of some fern a succulent greens was made. Taro, 
itself, without cooking is extremely acrid and poisonous. In 
a raw state, when grated, they used it as a medicine. Vessels 
of clay they had not, and the only thing that would stand fire 
was the cocoanut shell, wherein by dropping hot stones into 
the water, boiling water was obtained. Baking in ti-leaves 
and the large leaves of other plants was admirably conducted. 
Salt was made by evaporating sea water, and sometimes this 
was done by carrying the water in calabashes to great dis- 
tances and there evaporating it. 

Clay (Hawaiian equivalent, "palolo," sticky mud, adhesive 
dirt) was much used in surgery in putting the broken limb in a 
case and wrapping the whole in leaves. They boasted of their 
great success in this line. It certainly is a great antiphlogistic, 
and their action has been followed by our own surgeons. The 
juices of some fruits, as the noni, were used as remedies to pre- 
vent the falling of the hair. 

The astringent and laxative qualities of many roots and 
herbs were well known, and the kahunas practiced medicine 
successfully, although such practice was accompanied with 
considerable humbuggery and many incantations. Like 
Christian Science believers, they considered it necessary to 
first obtain the confidence of the patient and then treat his 
malady, although, unfortunately, some of the believers in 
Christian Science would attempt to cure without using the 
remedies which the Creator has placed in their hands. 

It would not be wise to attempt, in a book of this nature, 
to recite all that "Kansas" learned of the medicinal virtues of 
herbs and plants known to the Hawaiians, hundreds of which 
he made note of. They were frequently inclined to invent 
stories for his edification, and it was thought great fun to give 
false information in the matter of the uses of vegetable 
products. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 71 

Life, to a native, appeared to be one round of frivolity, and 
it was rarely that one was met who gave a thought to the 
future or to laying up a contingency against a rainy day or old 
age. Life in the tropics is notoriously easy, and in the old 
times, when wants had not multiplied, the cultivation of a 
small tract was sufficient to supply food for a large number 
when eked out with the products of the sea, in the taking of 
which the natives were adepts. 

In another chapter a somewhat lengthy account will be 
given of the food stufifs of the islanders and of the manner of 
preparing them. "Kansas," for his own amusement, edifica- 
tion and pastime made a study of the prim^e necessaries of life 
among the people, as well as of their knowledge of the arts 
and sciences prior to the advent of the foreigner. To this he 
had added the acquired knowledge of the working of the 
feudal system, and of the origin of the titles to real property. 
The study of these matters brought him into close relations 
wuth some of the most advanced of the natives, and a great 
increase of his knowledge of the vernacular, all of which 
proved of much value to him, as we will notice in future 
chapters. 



CHAPTER XVII 



HAWAIIAN HOSPITALITY AND CUSTOMS — PAGEANTRY OF A ROYAL 
TOUR AROUND THE ISLAND OF OAHU. 

HERE the author takes the liberty of inserting a chapter 
which has appeared in the Covimcrcial Advertiser, and 
which, although written by himself, was said to be the 
best pen picture of Hawaiian hospitality and customs which 
has appeared in print. The edition was soon exhausted, there 
being many demands for it to send abroad. 



Editor Advertiser: — I hand you herewith a description of a tour around 
the Island of Oahu as told to me by my friend, the Hon. John A. Cum- 
mins (one of the last of the Hawaiian Chiefs), which I am sure will be 
of interest to many of your old-time subscribers, and also will show the 
malihinis how the Hawaiian entertained. 

Yours truly, Jas. W. Girvin. 

On October 10th, 1875, I received a letter from Her Majesty 
Queen Emma, stating that she wished to see me. As I had 
opposed her election and she knew I had been very instru- 
mental in securing the election of H. M. Kalakaua, on calling 
at her house I was agreeably surprised at the pleasant recep- 
tion she gave mc. However, her husband, the late King Ka- 
mehameha IV, and I had been schoolmates and intimate 
friends, and during his reign I frequently entertained him at 
Waimanalo, and on more than one occasion I had the oppor- 
tunity of doing some kindness for Her Majesty. She made 
no mention of the past opposition to her, but asked me to ac- 
company her on a tour around the Island of Oahu. 

I had always honored and respected Her Majesty above all 
the Princes it had been my fortune to meet, and I have known 
all from the days of Kamehameha III to the present tim^e, and 
I resolved to make her tour of the island one of great pleasure 
and comfort to her as well as one of note in Hawaiian his- 
tory. I am also a chief, descended on my mother's side from 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 73 

the same line of chiefs in Puna, Hawaii, from which sprang 
Kamehameha I, and Kalakaua. 

Being famiHar with the sports of the Hawaiians and some- 
what posted in Hawaiian mythology and occult mysteries, as 
well as being an adept at fishing and the preparation of the 
foods of the people, I knew I could make her tour a pleasant 
one. At that time I had considerable resources at comanand, 
being the konohiki, or lord of Waimanalo, and owner of hun- 
dreds of horses and cattle. 

The Queen asked me to fix a date convenient to me for the 
beginning of the grand tour, and requested me to take charge 
of all the details of the procession. 

I decided that Guy Fawkes' Day, the 5th of November, 
should be the day of leaving Honolulu. Notices were put in 
the papers and also posters sent to prominent parties in dif- 
ferent parts of the island, fixing dates at which the cavalcade 
would arrive, and I endeavored to meet all those arrangements. 

On that day, in riding down Nuuanu avenue from Waima- 
nalo at 6:30 a. m., I saw a great many men, women and chil- 
dren carrying baskets and bundles of leis, some of ilima, some 
of marigolds, som^e of lehua blossoms and of ahihi done up 
in wrappers of ti-leaf and banana ; lei lehua ahihi woven with 
maile, hala fruit leis done up in solid bundles as pai-ai or 
hard poi is put up, all being carried to their gracious Queen 
Emma. 

I had breakfast with Her Majesty and her mother, at which 
were present Peter Kaeo, Kunuiakea, and other high chiefs, 
at 7 a. m. At this hour the city and surrounding country 
were covered with mist and a light rain was falling in the 
valleys, and as the sun shone on them innumerable rainbows 
and in some instances double rainbows were produced, which 
some prognosticated to indicate an auspicious commencement 
of our pageant. 

I had brought in some of my best horses, and gave Her 
Majesty an animal of fine pedigree named "Kekonikauaikana- 
hele" for her sole use, and which she rode throughout the 
journey. He appeared to realize that he was carrying royalty, 
and, although cavorting from side to side and making as 
much of an exhibition as a good horse can do, he was as 
gentle as any lady could wish. 



74 The Master Planter; or 



KuliouoH and Makapuu. 

After breakfast the cavalcade was put in order. It consisted 
of one hundred and forty women, riding astride, dressed in 
the brightest colors the stores of Honolulu afforded. The 
pa-u or riding habit of the women consists of a long piece 
of bright print wrapped around the hips and extending down 
to the stirrup, from whence it flares out behind when the 
horse is in motion. 

The impression as we swept through the streets on our 
dashing horses must have been gorgeous. Her Majesty and 
myself led the procession, followed by her mother and other 
chiefs. The streets of Honolulu were thronged with people to 
witness the grand sight, and it w'ould appear that the whole 
city and many from the country had turned out to see the 
departure. We rode down Nuuanu street and along King 
and up into Beretania and thence out towards Kamoiliili. At 
Kuliouou we were entertained at luncheon by Mr. and Mrs. 
Pico. They had provided all the luxuries to which foreigners 
are accustomed, and also a magnificent native luau. The food 
was exceedingly plentiful and much more than was necessary, 
even for so large a number. We got away from there at 1 
p. mi. and rode down across the plains of Kaea, Kamehame, 
and along the paved way to the foot of Makapuu. 

On Makapuu point stood the hula god Malei,* which was duly 
saluted, and we descended the precipice. Here the royal party 
saw a sight such as they had not expected, and such as will never 
be seen in Hawaii again. Six mounted knights in red costume and 
red visors, carrying torches, presented arms to the Queen. As 
the procession wended its way onward every three hundred 
yards an arch bearing a motto in the Hawaiian language pre- 
sented itself, welcoming Her Majesty to the Koolaus. No two 
of these mottos were alike, and some were from the ancient hid- 
den tongue known only to the chiefs. These letters were con- 
structed of combustibles and burned until the whole cavalcade 
reached my home-place, "Mauna Rose," a distance of four miles, 

Waimanalo. 

All the arrangements for welcoming the Queen had been made 
by me or through my orders. Her arrival was welcomed by a 

* A modern^, powerful United States lighthouse stands there now. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 75 

corps of men blowing horns made from lauhala leaves. All the 
residents of the neighborhood had assembled to see their be- 
loved Queen, and as she passed lay prone on the ground out of 
deference to old Hawaiian customs, although such usage had 
passed and was not expected of them by Her Majesty. 

I had erected two very large lanais which were covered with 
cocoa palm leaves, either one of which would have seated 200 
guests. At 5:30 p. m. Her Majesty, the chiefs, and the whole 
party sat down to a feast of all the good things of which the 
Hawaiians are so fond. At 8:30 p. m. the luau was over and 
the hula began. I had made arrangements for illuminations 
and fireworks, and rockets were fired from the precipitous moun- 
tains in the rear. Blue lights and other pyrotechnics enlightened 
the heavens and made the night brilliant, and three hundred 
torches burned throughout the night. Three sets of hula dancers 
and singers relieved each other through the night, and daylight 
found the hula still fresh. This entertainment lasted three whole 
days and nights. At 8 a. m. two tables sufficient to ac- 
commodate two hundred guests were spread for breakfast. The 
preparation of poi, fish of many kinds and served in many forms, 
as dried, lawalued, fried, boiled, etc., had occupied the services 
of several good stewards, and good stewards among the Ha- 
waiians are adepts at such luaus. 

Among the good things Hawaiians relish most is limu, or 
sea-weed, and at this luau a great many kinds were served, to 
mention the names of which would onl} be confusing. Naturally 
foreign delicacies were not neglected, and tea, coffee, chocolate, 
cake, bread and butter, meats of all kinds were served in pro- 
fusion as called for at each feast, for it was a round of feasts. 
After breakfast, on the first day, all parties proceeded to amuse 
themselves in such manner as life in the country afforded. Prob- 
ably half of the party w^ent to the mountains to gather maile, 
awapuhi, ohawai, palapalai and hala fruit to make leis for the 
afternoon. The other half remained at home ; and I prepared 
some rare fishing sports. It was a great day with the fisher- 
men, who excel in that part of the island. 

Quantities of fish of many kinds w-ere caught. Amongst these 
were honu or turtle, ula, opihi. okala. uhu. palani, hee, ohua, 
manini, kumu and others. Fisherman Malokea, and his large 
gang of men and women with sweeping nets caught lots of moi, 
sandfish, akule, and others, the sweepers covering a distance of 



76 The Master Planter; or 

five miles of beach from Muliwaiolena to Puukiloia. Her Ma- 
jesty and most of the party had a sea-bath and witnessed sports 
on the water before returning to Mauna Rose. 

Piiewai of Piiha. 

In the meantime I had a gang of men at work preparing to 
open the bar at the mouth of Puha river. This bar or dam had 
accumulated for some years and much water was backed up. I 
had seen this opened on a former occasion, and the sports of the 
natives in swimming the raging waters, and determined to give 
Her Majesty and party a view of this ancient sport. To this end 
I had a gang of men cut and carry away much of the embank- 
ment so that but little would be required to bring down the flood. 
An opening of 20 feet or more having been made in the dam 
the water rushed out at the rate of 30 knots or more. The bore 
or surge caused was very high, and only t\yo men and two women 
dared to play on this water-surf, called Pue-wai. One strong 
man of fine form went across and back holding up the tip end 
of his malo. This was the grand sport of the day and was the 
subject of comment by all who witnessed it. Her Majesty pre- 
sented each of these four with $100 and four pair of red blankets. 
"Hee-Pue-Wai" was a bye-word for several days thereafter. 

At 4 o'clock p. m. the whole party, augmented by many from 
the Koolau district, sat down to a bountiful and elaborate din- 
ner. Four chief stewards looked after the welfare of the guests 
and two chefs de cuisine took charge of the foreign part of the 
entertainment. Amongst the provisions prepared were ten hogs, 
one whole bullock cooked in different styles, ducks and turkeys 
in quantity, also fish of all descriptions served in as many imagin- 
able ways. During the night one table was kept supplied with 
food and drinkables. On the second night the bonfires on the 
mountains were kept up all night. 

The second breakfast was not so well attended, many of the 
guests having indulged too freely in fresh pork. 

On the 7th I decided to give an exhibition of my trained 
horses, and other sports were also introduced at Hunananiho. I 
had then eleven horses under training, all of which were thor- 
oughbreds ; and four jockeys. The races were very good, and as 
Hawaiians are lovers of the sport the whole party had a rare 
treat. 



Life ill the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 77 

Every day while the Queen was at Waimanalo large quanti- 
ties of fish of all descriptions were brought in. Her Majesty 
was in good health and entered into the joys of the people, rid- 
ing and driving around the country. I taught her to use the 
riile, and she did some excellent shooting, on several occasions 
smashing a bottle at 140 yards, and could cut a twine with a 
rilie ball at a long distance. 

The people from all parts of the Koolaus kept arriving and 
bringing in their hookupus, or gifts, of foodstuffs. New hula 
dancers also presented themselves as the reputation for the dis- 
tribution of prizes spread throughout the island. I had to send 
much of the eatables away to Judge Pii's house at Kaneohe, 
where the next station of the procession was to be. Notwith- 
standing the great concourse of people to be entertained, my 
work was made comparatively easy by the genial disposition of 
the people and the faculty Hawaiians have of caring for them- 
selves. The presence of the Queen forbade any rudeness or un- 
due existence of spirit, or quarreling, amongst this large num- 
ber of guests. 

Kaneohe. 

After ajiother grand breakfast on the eighth, the wdiole party 
being ready, we made a start for Kaneohe by way of Alele. It 
was a great crowd, all on horseback and all dressed in bright 
colors, with beautiful leis. The cavalcade was led by six mounted 
knights in red with burning torches. Many people stood on the 
Pali to witness the qourse of the procession. 

At the boundary of Wailea I had an immense bonfire. Here I 
had erected an immense arch of fire fifteen feet high through 
which each member of the party was compelled to ride. The 
arch was covered with gunny sacks saturated with kerosene and 
then covered with ieie vine. At high moon Her Majesty and I 
rode through this hoop of fire followed by the balance of the pro- 
cession. We thus left the boundary of my land, and w^ere in 
Kailua, from where we had a view of our own party on the plain 
of Alele. 

At Judge Pii's house at Kaneohe great preparations for enter- 
taining on a grand scale had been made. I had two men in 
charge of the three hundred torches and pack horses for the 
same. Two more cared for the eatables and drinkables, and four 



78 The Master Planter; or 



more bringing horses and a Concord buggy and double team of 
black horses. Here the hula kept up all night, and no sleep 
could be had. 

Waikane. 

After breakfast the next morning the procession took up 
its way to Waikane, to Mr. Kamealoha's place. I drove the 
Queen behind my black span and her mother followed in her 
carry-all. Good humor and joviality sat on every feature, and 
with oli and mele the procession made its way to its desti- 
nation at the next station. Her Majesty appeared very much 
gratified at the numerous expressions of good will, and once 
remarked to me that if I had caused her to be elected she as- 
suredly would have appointed me one of her ministers. I 
replied that although my father was an Englishman, he be- 
lieved it was for the best interests of the country that there 
should be a king at the head of the nation rather than a 
Queen, and that it was preferable that American influence 
should sway the throne rather than English, as we feared it 
would be if we elected Her Majesty. Also that I had asked 
her what her wishes were on a former occasion, and she had 
assured me that she did not contemplate being a candidate 
for election to the throne. Arriving at Kamealoha's place, 
through six magnificent arches of evergreen, we found prepa- 
rations to entertain a thousand people. Her Majesty and 
party were here assured of a most hearty welcome. Without 
being tautological, I can say that the immensity of leis of 
hala-fruit and others that were prepared for our adornment 
was stupendous. To describe the great fish prepared in many 
styles, both raw, dried and cooked, the hogs, poultry and 
delicious comestibles would take more space than I can af- 
ford, although not more than the love displayed by her peo- 
ple deserves. Notwithstanding the immense number to be 
fed, the hookupus, or gifts of food, had increased the store 
of provisions to such an extent that from there I was com- 
pelled to send by the schooner "Rob Roy," to Her Majesty's 
residence in Honolulu, nine live hogs, eight bundles of dried 
mullet, six barrels poi, two dozen fowls, etc. Kamealoha 
had two large thatch houses and a large school house at his 
coni'mand for sleeping quarters, and had erected an immense 
lanai for the luau. He was a well-to-do citizen, and as gen- 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 79 

erous and hospitable as any whom we met on the grand tour. 
At night the torches burned and the hula went on, and 
joviality and free intercourse was the rule. 

Kaliana. 

After breakfast the next day, all feeling refreshed, the pro- 
cession proceeded on its way, to Kahana. Before arriving 
there the cavalcade passed through a region where melons 
grew profusely, and the residents passed to those of the party 
who would accept, goblets of fermented melon juice and ti- 
root cider, which both refreshed and inspirited them. 

Here a Chinese, Apakana, and his Hawaiian wife, Mary, a 
sister of Kamakini, received us all very warmly and had made 
great preparations for our entertainment. To see two hun- 
dred horses tied out in the grounds and their accoutrements 
on fences and trees, alone was a novelty. This foreigner, Apa- 
kana, seemed to vie with the Hawaiians in his endeavor to 
entertain Her Majesty and suite in form commensurate with 
her rank. The feast he and his wife spread out was ample 
for twice the number of our party, although our numbers ap- 
peared to steadily increase. There was a plethora of poi, 
sweet potatoes, rice, hogs, fish, raw and cooked ; more than 
enough for five hundred people for four days. Here we saw 
the largest oios, a most delicious fish, which we had on the 
grand tour. Crow^ds of people joined us here, some leading 
pack-horses loaded with melons, sugar cane, bananas, cocoa- 
nuts, dried fish. etc. Excepting Her Alajesty and a few others, 
all went in bathing in the large river there. 

Pnnahiu. 

After a late breakfast the procession took up its journey 
to Punaluu. Here were three very large thatch houses. The 
natives there had a hui, or ownership in common, and we 
remained with them two days, but were no burden to them 
as we carried so large a store of provisions. The hula and 
speech-making was kept going continually, and it was the 
noisiest place we found in the grand tour, even the Chinese 
adding to the din with their firecrackers. The feasting ap- 
peared to be continuous. The provisions multiplied to such 
an extent that I was compelled to send a schooner from there 



80 The Master Planter; or 

to Honolulu with ten bags rice, ten barrels poi, ten bags sweet 
potatoes, ten hogs and pigs and two dozen fowls. 

We left there on Wednesday morning, intending to make 
Lane's place at Hauula that night, and had forwarded much of 
our provisions and paraphernalia there. When about to start 
from Punaluu one of the principal natives, Keaunui, invited 
the Queen to take a surf-ride in his two and one-half fathom 
canoe. He was a very large and fine-looking man, and had a 
great local reputation. He had about fifty fathoms of small 
line and two horses, the intention being to pull the canoe just 
inside the breakers, parallel with the beach for a distance of 
four males. The beach terminated at his house, where he had 
prepared a fine luau for the Queen and party. Her Majesty 
declined to go in the canoe with Keaunui, but said she would 
go with me, having more confidence in my care of her. We 
got out of the buggy and I purchased 125 fathoms of line at 
a Chinese store, and one of my boys took the kinks out of it. 
I had it made fast close to the fore out-rigger of the canoe so 
that it forced the canoe out about 100 fathoms. I had nothing 
on but a malo and broad-brimmed straw hat. The Queen 
left her shoes and stockings and got into the canoe and sat 
down, holding firmly by the out-rigger. The beach was 
crowded with people to witness the great sight of a Queen 
taking a perilous ride in the surf. I had two good horses at 
the end of the long rope and gave the canoe a strong shove 
out to sea and jumped in at the same time. The horses went 
full speed along the beach. I turned my paddle up and kept 
the canoe out the full length of the rope, and the speed must 
have been thirty knots. Then I played with the Queen, dip- 
ping the out-rigger into the sea, which threw the spray over 
us. causing a rainbow to those on the beach. The Chinese 
left their rice fields to see this great surf-riding. In the canoe 
the Queen only was visible. We had the rushing of the surf 
and the speed of the horses to propel us, and flew through the 
water. Her Majesty enjoyed the perilous surf ride, although 
she was wet through and through when we landed at Keau- 
nui's house. Eight strapping kanakas lifted the canoe and 
both of us out of the sea and carried us up to the house at 
Kapaka, Koolauloa. Although Keaunui had his feast ready, 
we had to go up to Kaliuwaa waterfalls to bathe and get the 
brine off and change our clothing. The natives carried both 
the Oueen and mvself to Kaliuwaa. Kekela, the Queen's 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haivaii. 81 

mother, remained at Kapaka until our return. This waterfall 
is also one of the historical points on the Island of Oahu, 
about which many legends are told. After swimming, high 
jumping, diving and other sports in which the large crowd 
joined in the beautiful pool there, refreshing drinks were 
passed around amidst great hilarity. The pool is about fifty 
feet across, very cold and quite deep. 

Haiinla and Laieinaloo. 

On our return to Keaunui's we enjoyed the great feast he 
had prepared. He had every Hawaiian luxury that could be 
desired. We left there quite late, but many of our party had 
gone ahead to Hauula, Mr. Lane's place. We did not arrive 
until 10 p. m., and the whole party were tired. I stirred them 
all up and got the hula people to make a noise. Mr. Lane 
and wife were very much annoyed at us for being so slow in 
arriving, as the luau had been ready some hours before. How- 
ever, they got up a nice breakfast for all the next morning 
and we got the procession started for Laiemaloo. Here J. W. 
Kupau entertained us. He had eight large houses and one 
large lanai. At this place was the great hula man, Kapuao- 
kahala, and his three daughters. He had the reputation of 
being the best hula player in Hawaii-nei. We remained here 
two nights and had a grand time. All the residents of the 
neighborhood flocked to see the royal train, and they camped 
out under the hau and hala trees. There was an abundance of 
fat hogs and pigs, beef, poultry and fish. There was much 
steami consumed by the camp-followers, so as to keep every- 
thing going lively. The different kinds of hula, as puniu, 
alaa. papa, uliuli, paili, paiumauma. etc., were witnessed as 
performed by this old-time hula master. 

I had to take this crowd of hula singers to Honolulu with 
us to keep up the merriment of the party, and sent the old 
crowd back to their homes in Kaneohe, Mokapu, Kailua and 
Kaaawa. This new party of hula singers and performers got 
the whole procession in good humor. Here the Queen bought 
lots of blankets and calico for the poor people, and many 
shirts called uewahine, and gave to them after breakfast 
on the second day. We got aw^ay for Kahuku, where Judge 
Kaluhi entertained us. This is the land of the hala tree. We 
had four very large houses, and all the walks around and from 



82 The Master Planter ; or 



house to house were covered with matting called ue. Every- 
one took care of his own horse and all were welcome. The 
viands were most abundant. At night I had all the torches 
burning, which lighted up all Kahuku. Our party by this 
time had increased to over three hundred, and the number of 
visitors and friends from the neighborhood was very large. 
At the midnight luau I sent word around among the peo- 
ple that there should be no one leaving here for Waimea or 
Waialua who had not a wreath of hala-fruit, and that we 
would leave after breakfast on the morrow. This caused a 
scramble to the woods in the dark to gather the fruit for the 
leis. By daybreak every one had a hala lei on and we got 
away for Waialua. Her Majesty, her mother, and I drove in 
carriages, but the hundreds were on horseback. In all our 
traveling we had had no rain, but now we struck a heavy 
shower near Judge Kalanipoo's house at Waimea, where we 
stopped and enjoyed his hospitality. He had more than suffi- 
cient food prepared for all our 300 and odd people. The 
weather cleared up and we got ofif to Waialua. Judge Ka- 
lanipoo sent two ox-carts loaded with provisions on ahead, 
which were left at Ukoa-makaha, Waialua, at Kaleikini's 
place. Her Majesty and I led the procession, but I had two 
of my best horsemen as out-riders, who maintained discipline. 
Great preparations had been made by Kaleikini, assisted by 
Mrs. Apakana, for entertaining the great party. 

Waialua, JVaipo and Moanalua. 

We remained at Waialua four days. No sooner had we 
arrived than the natives, men, women and children, and loaded 
ox-carts from/ all directions began to arrive with their hoo- 
kupus. I had more provisions than I knew what to do with. 
Some of these were for myself, but I passed them all over to 
the Queen. Amongst the hookupus was a box of white geese, 
marked on the outside "Keoni Kamaki." Taking it for 
granted it was for me, I gave it to the Queen. It developed 
afterwards that the case was for John Dominis, whose native 
name was similar to mine. I hajd many of my own people 
with me and made them care for the goods. At 8 p. m. all 
sat down to one of the best dinners I ever saw. After the 
Queen's table was over another was set, and so on all through 
the night. Of course the hula kept up and was as noisy as 



Life ill the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 83 



it could be. Owen and John and James Holt, who owned a 
large ranch in the vicinity, helped very miuch in arranging 
for the comfort of this great crowd. 

The Queen had a head steward who had twenty men under 
him, ten of whom guarded by day and ten by night. My 
torch bearers renewed their stock of kerosene at every Chi- 
nese store throughout the route and looked after their work well. 
From Waialua I took the opportunity to ship by the schooner 
''Luka" ten barrels poi, ten sacks sweet potatoes, eight bun- 
dles dried anae, three dozen turkeys, four dozen fowls, eleven 
large hogs, eleven small pigs, four sheep and one dozen white 
geese to be delivered at Her Majesty's house in Honolulu, 
directing that there should be given from these to the King 
and each of the chiefs a share of each commodity shipped. 
The hookupus kept on coming in during each day of our stay. 

The inhabitants of Waialua district were exceedingly kind 
to the Queen and her party. Bundle after bundle of maile 
leis and leis of maile laulii o koiahi. Natives from distant 
Waianae brought to Her Majesty quantities of their famous 
fine-flavored cocoanuts, called poka-i. Four days in Waialua 
seemed to me to be too much, but it did not seem that way 
to the people, as they appeared to enjoy themselves very 
m^uch. Every meal was crowded with them. Bathing parties 
were in the sea at all times, as were fishing coteries, while 
others were visiting the uplands. It was curious to me to 
note that I had no trouble with this army of friends, but they 
were well disciplined and polite. Assuredly Waialua never 
saw such a sight before and never will again. Every surf- 
board in the vicinity was in use, and there were some rare 
actors amongst this mass of people, who hailed from all parts 
of the island. 

On the morning of the fourth day, after another great break- 
fast, the cavalcade was formed for the ride towards Honolulu. 
It was one of the most beautiful sights ever seen, to look back 
on the procession from the uplands; and Her Majesty was 
continually looking back at the bright colored procession 
which followed us, four abreast. There were three hundred 
women with gaudy leis of bright flowers and maile wreaths, 
their horses also being decked out with evergreens. The 
horses pranced and looked well, the women looked fat and 
smiling and every face was wreathed in smiles. 



84 The Master Planter. 



Only the Hawaiian language can describe the joy of the 
return pilgrimage. It was a long ride to Waipio, but we got 
there safely and put up at the house of one of the Queen's re- 
tainers. He also had a sufficiency to eat, but there was no 
rest, as the quarters were limited and the noise fearful. After 
breakfast the cavalcade pushed on to Moanalua to Her High- 
ness Keelikolani's house, where great preparations had been 
made to entertain so vast a multitude which had still farther 
swollen by numbers who had come out from Honolulu to es- 
cort us home. An immense lanai had been constructed of 
cocoanut leaves, a beautiful structure. Here all the Ha- 
waiian luxuries were ready for a final luau on an exceedingly 
grand scale. I never saw such an abundance of leis made of 
lehua blossoms, and cannot imagine where they came from. 
Just as the party were ready to partake of the viands a very 
heavy shower of rain, accompanied with thunder and light- 
ning, fell, which drenched every one to the skin. Still we 
determined to sit through it. I should state that we were 
here joined by about two hundred people on horseback from 
town. 

After the luau we resumed our march towards town, the 
Queen on "Kekonikauaikanahele" and I on "Taiehu," which 
was a most beautiful white horse Avith red spots the size of 
a dime. Her Majesty and the horse were covered with leis 
of lehua and pikaki, and every one of the seven or eight hun- 
dred were likewise bedecked with leis. We led the proces- 
sion, followed by the whole cavalcade, along King street, up 
Richards and along Beretania to Her Majesty's house. All 
dismounted and bade Her Majesty farewell, and I took my 
men home to Waimanalo, having been fifteen days on the 
merriest, wildest jaunt of my life. 

I am sure I have neglected to tell much of the fun that 
went on at each resting place, but the whole was an Hawaiian 
hohday according to the ancient custom of enjoyment, and 
it is unlikely that su&h could ever be repeated. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



THE TRANSFORMATION OF KANSAS — FROM SHIPPED MAN TO 
PLANTATION MANAGER IN ELEVEN MONTHS. 

ONE evening, as he sat reading, the Chinese steward from the 
house rushed in, and in a very excited manner told him, 
"Mamma (the planter's wife) wanted him to go there 
quick, bossy he fall down dead." Our hero felt that something 
very serious had happened at the house, and in a few strides he 
was there. Here he found everything in confusion, the ladies 
wringing their hands and crying, excepting n^amma, and she 
was on the floor chafing her husband's hands, bathing his 
face and calling for remedies, and especially urging them to 
send for "Kansas." When he appeared she appealed to him 
to save her husband. 

"Oh, you can do it," she said, "he had such confidence in 
you and said that when anything went wrong to call on you." 

"Kansas" found that the planter had fallen from his chair 
while sitting quietly amidst his family, in what appeared to 
be an apoplectic fit, and was dead from heart failure. He 
quickly stripped the clothing from the prostrate man's chest 
and applied his ear to endeavor to learn any signs of life. 
He fancied he detected a slight murmur of the heart, and 
some pulsation at the wrist. He used cold water copiously, 
and finding life not extinct took out his knife and opened a 
vein in the man's arm and bled him quite freely. His patient 
immediately began to show signs of life, and very soon they 
were enabled to get him into bed. 

One of the servants had gone for the doctor, who lived at 
a distance of about four miles. When the doctor arrived, he 
approved all that our hero had done, and freely comanended 
him for his prompt action. The doctor said it was a fit of 
apoplex3^ and it was extremely fortunate that there was some 
one on the spot who had the nerve and knowledge to act as 
"Kansas" had done, as it had undoubtedly saved the planter's 
life. 



86 The Master Planter; or 



Mamma said openly, "Yes, papa said that if any kind of 
trouble came to call on 'Kansas' ; he thinks 'Kansas' knows 
more about anything than anybody." 

Our hero felt flattered; but he had had some experience in 
accidents, and had read of similar cases. The ladies made 
remarks which showed that they had taken notice of him, al- 
though he had not had the honor of an introduction, nor of 
conversing with them. Mamma could not refrain from ex- 
pressing her joy at the restoration of her husband from ap- 
parent death, and from her language he knew that he had 
often been the theme of conversation in the home. 

After a few days the planter was able to be out on the 
veranda, but the doctor ordered that he should leave the 
plantation and go abroad for a year at least, saying that a re- 
currence of the fit would probably prove fatal. His wife 
abetted the doctor and pleaded with her husband to take her 
East, which he had promised to do at many times, although 
each succeeding year found him no better prepared to leave 
the islands than the former one. He said he would go but 
had no one to leave in charge of the plantation. He had de- 
pended so much on himself, that now in his emergency, there 
was no one whom he could leave in charge. 

His wife said, "There is 'Kansas,' you say he knows every- 
thing, and you owe your life to him." 

"Yes," he replied, " 'Kansas' would do, but it looks so ab- 
surd to put a contract laborer in charge of a plantation." 

It was Hobson's choice, however. He sent for "Kansas" 
and made him the proposition that he take the managership of 
the plantation. What was his surprise when the man firmly 
replied that he could not do it, that he had other plans in 
view when his year was out. 

"But we will cancel the contract now, and I will pay you 
one hundred dollars per month from this on." said the planter. 

"Still I could not do it," said "Kansas," "I have other 
views and plans, and time is passing. I really came to you on 
an apprenticeship, and not for pay. My wife and family are 
looking forward to our reunion, and I have by your assistance 
made a thorough study of the sugar industry, and now that 
my apprenticeship draws to a close I feel that I must go into 
the business on my own account." 

Here was a revelation. 

"Why, where is your wife?" said mamma. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haivaii. 87 

"With our children in Honolulu, and they can hardly wait 
until my time is up," replied "Kansas." 

"You are an enigma," said mamma; "if I had known you 
were a married man and that your family was in this country, 
I should certainly have insisted on bringing them here. 

"We could not well live on eight dollars a month," said 
"Kansas," "and like Abraham of old, I was afraid to admit 
that I had a wife, for fear I would get no employment; I had 
tried that too often before." 

"I knew you had a wife," said the planter, "for my captain 
told me that he had talked with her about you in Honolulu, 
but I did not give the matter any weight." 

"Kansas," said the planter, "I will make you a fair proposi- 
tion. Now bring your family here, take the home and all as 
it stands, carriages and all, manage the plantation, and I will 
pay you three thousand dollars per year for three years." 

"Well, Mr. , your proposition appears to be fair, 

and it certainly is as good as forty-five hundred dollars a year, 
but it is your proposition. Here is mine : You are content 
with your present receipts, are you not?" 

"Yes," said the planter. 

"Now," said "Kansas," "I propose to accept your olYer, with 
the addition that you give me, besides, fifty per cent, of all 
I shall raise in excess of what you have done during the past 
season." 

"I accept the terms," said thfe planter, feeling that he was 
dealing with a stronger mind than his own. 

A lawyer was sent for and a contract, embodying the speci- 
fied terms, was drawn up and executed in duplicate. First 
the original contract was produced and cancelled. The plant- 
er's wife begged "Kansas" to give her the contract, as she 
wanted to have it framed. "Oh, no," said our hero, "that repre- 
sents eleven months of servitude, and my wife will prize it 
more than you." 

He then went to Honolulu to get his wife and family, and 
he could not help feeling the vast difference between the cabin 
fare and comfort as compared with the trip of misery he had 
on deck a year ago. The meeting with his wife will not be de- 
scribed. She could hardly realize that this sunburned, swarthy 
man was the same individual she had taken for better or for 
worse so many years ago. 

She was now to rank as a planter's wife, and his draft was 



88 The Master Planter. 



to be honored to the extent of thousands. How did it all come 
about? She felt that all their cares \yere ended, and that he 
only received a just reward of merit. He knew that they were 
only at the foot of the ladder, and that years of labor and care 
were ahead of himi. 

After a week's stay in Honolulu, where they purchased such 
necessaries as would be needed, and where he presented his 
letters of introduction to the agents, they took passage for Ka- 
hului. They were met by the planter with carriages and 
driven up to the ranch. They were the cynosure of all the 
beach-combers of Kahului. 

"Wall, I swow," said one old blatherskite, "if that ain't H's 
bullock driver." 

"I'll be jiggered," said another, "if )'OU couldn't knock me 
down with a feather." 

All united in saying that he was a hard-working man, and 
as smart as a steel trap ; but they seemed to think it could not 
be right for a bullock driver and a "shipped hand" to be ele- 
vated to the position of manager of a plantation. One said 
he was a millionaire in disguise, and had merely played it on 
the old man to acquire a knowledge of the extent of the re- 
sources of the plantation. Another said that he had bought 
the plantation, and that Farwell, who made out the papers, 
had said as much as that. 

The planter and his wife welcomed "Kansas" and his wife 
and the two families became quite intimate during the in- 
terval prior to the departure of the old planter and his house- 
hold on their long journey. 



CHAPTER XIX 



HAWAII LEADS TPIE WORLD IN SCIENTIFIC SUGAR CANE CULTI- 
VATION. 

MARY, the old parson's daughter, came to bid the planter 
and his family a loving- farewell, and met "Kansas's" 
wife and little ones. 

"Oh, Mrs. H., said she, ''I knew all about 'Kansas's' wife 
and famiily, and it was a mutual understanding that I should 
say nothing about them to any one." 

"Well, Mary," said Mrs. H., "you are the one woman of 
my acquaintance who can keep a secret." 

Mrs. H. emphatically asserted what she would have done if 
she had known that "Kansas" had a wife and little ones in 
Honolulu, and from her well-known friendly, hospitable char- 
acter we can readily believe she would have taken radical 
measures to bring this pair together long ere this. However, 
they admitted that after the experience he had had he was 
justified in pursuing the course he did, until such times as 
he could have a chance of making his value known. 

Many of the neighboring planters came to bid adieu to 
their old friends, and on being introduced to his successor they 
extended the right hand of fellowship and welcomed him 
to the society of the community. "Kansas" could not help re- 
calling the expression of the old missionary in Lahaina, "Ha- 
waii-nei is a country where a man finds his level sooner than 
in any other." The past year had been of inestimable value 
to him in so many more ways than if he had come in at the 
top instead of working his way up. Not only had his knowl- 
edge of the cultivation of sugar been thoroughly acquired, but 
being unharassed by the necessary interruptions of the care 
of a family, his general knowledge had been greatly expanded 
through his studies and observation. His acquaintance with 
the language of the people and the geography of the surround- 
ing country must inure to his benefit in the coming years of 
his managfement. 



90 The Master Planter ; or 

After the planter and his family had left, our hero got down 
to business in earnest, and the following chapters will show 
how he succeeded under his second contract. He knew that 
sugar was made in the field and that the technicalities of the 
mill and office were secondary. With maps before him of the 
fine estate of which he was the manager, and with the payroll 
and estimates which he had at hand, he proceeded to plan a 
campaign as scientifically as though it were a game of chess. 
He did not intend to let things go at haphazard. 

That labor was becoming scarcer he knew from the conver- 
sation overheard between visiting planters, and that its price 
would go up was a certainty. There was therefore a necessity 
of meeting this dilemima. He must make the land yield more, 
and he must save a larger percentage of the crop. The estate 
was a very large one, and the question presented was whether 
it was not better to confine the cultivation to a smaller tract, 
thereby producing a larger yield, or to go on as it had been 
and scatter his hands over the great acreage with no larger 
returns. 

Had the lands been under irrigation, where the rattoons, 
when well cultivated, are almost equal to first crop, he would 
have decided to put in as much as he could get water for. As 
the main standby of this plantation must be the first planting, 
he decided to merely put in the acreage that he could cultivate 
well, and to waste no labor on rattoons unless in certain locali- 
ties where the lay of the land warranted an outlay. He knew 
from what he had gathered from the Commissioner's conver- 
sation on Haleakala that the whole soil was alluvion, and that 
the leaf mould from decayed ferns, and decomposed lava were 
continually being washed down by the tropical rains and 
would enrich the lower lands forever. 

He knew of the dearth of the rains for surface moisture, but 
felt that he could partially correct that by adding to the soil 
its complement, at but a slight expense. His decision was 
made that he would aid nature by correcting the soil. His 
agents were overwhelm-ingly surprised to receive from him an 
order for a thousand tons of gypsum, to be procured at Los 
Angeles, at a figure not to exceed $3.50 per ton, f. o. b. As 
his letter was explicit and definite, they obeyed his instruc- 
tions, and in a short time his carts were carrying from Kahului 
gypsum to be ground and spread along in the trenches when 
planting. He bought a pair of French burs, formerly used in 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 91 

a flour-mill at Wailukii, and having power to spare, he set 
them up at the mill to grind the gypsum. Gypsum, you know, 
is 46% sulphuric acid, Zi% lime, and 21% water, in round 
numbers. To a soil that was largely alluvion, made up of 
leaf mould and decomposed lava, lime was a complement. 
The action of the sulphuric acid tended to retain water that 
the rootlets might take up the plant food necessary for the 
growth of the cane. 

Our readers will recall the anecdote of Franklin's endeavors 
to persuade his neighbors to use Plaster of Paris on their 
lands. Plaster of Paris is merely calcined gypsum. They 
ridiculed him, but one of them granted his permission to try 
it on a certain field of wheat. The wily old gentleman sprin- 
kled it freely along the field near the road, and long before 
harvest passers could read in letters in the higher grain, 

• •••••••••••••••••••• 

• • 

• " THIS FIELD WAS PLASTERED." * 

• • 

• •••••••••••••••••••• 

To this day every farmer in Pennsylvania uses plaster from 
some mine in the vicinity, and many have learned that its ef- 
fect is just as good on the soil when not calcined as when it has 
been subjected to the action of fire and the water driven out 
of it. 

But to the soil of this Makawao plantation the lime was ex- 
actly what was wanted. To fertilize a crop extending over so 
much acreage as was under cultivation on this estate would 
require an immensity of capital, but our hero believed it would 
some day be done, and in the meanwhile he determined to 
correct the acidity of the soil in some localities, to manure as 
much as possible, and to fertilize as far as he could. Towards 
mianuring he collected all the eflfete leaves and hauled them 
to a mulch hole into which triturated the surplus water from 
the mill, which had been led in pipes from Kaluanui for the 
house and mill, to which he added whatever other waste ma- 
terial he could collect; and succeeded in preparing quite a 
pile of compost against the next season. To this he added the 
droppings from the cattle and sheep, collected from the fields. 

After the soil had been plowed and cross-furrowed, and 



92 The Master Planter; or 

trenched by a mould-board, he spread the manure in the 
trenches immediately previous to planting. The seed of cane, 
so-called, is really a piece of the cane, and is a foot or more 
in length. Probably the best seed is the part nearest the 
ground, and like any other plants, vegetables or fruits, the 
best results are to be obtained from the best selected seed. 
The richness of the lower or butt end of the stalk in saccharine 
matter caused the planters to use the upper or valueless part. 
In the matter of seed he also knew that it is nature's law that 
seed from a distant field produced better cane than the re- 
planting of a space with seed which had grown on the spot, 
and the attempt was made by him to import seed from La- 
haina and elsewhere, and his theory proved correct. 

Although much of the land on this estate was virgin soil, he 
knew that to make it produce to its highest capacity it was 
as necessary to fertilize the plant on it as it was in older cul- 
tivated lands. After the cane was up he supplied each hill 
with a fertilizer, a composition of apatite, guano and potash 
salts, although he did not fail to first correct and manure the 
soil. 

At the stage when the cane is about six inches above ground 
such a fertilizer had a marvellous efifect. It appears to compel 
the cane to grow. The great liar of Lahaina said "that he was 
unable to sleep at nights from the noise made by the crackling 
of the joints of the cane in its growth in the field adjoining 
his house." 

Rats are a great enemy of the cane, and their gnawings 
cause much loss directly and indirectly on a large plantation. 
If the rat would confine its attention to a particular stalk 
until that was eaten and then attack others, the attention of 
the planter would not be so much diverted to him, but they do 
not so confine their attacks, and apparently nibble at several 
before the appetite is satisfied. "Kansas" felt that it paid to 
keep a Chinaman or two continually employed with a score of 
rat terriers, who reported daily to the bookkeeper, showing the 
tails of his captures each day. Cane thus rat-eaten does not 
fall as a rule, but continues to grow. One-half of the stalk 
would sour, from the admission of air where the rind or skin 
was broken and the other half be sweet. To correct this acidity 
at the mill required the use of lime, an over-use of which has 
the efifect of preventing proper crystallization and of convert- 
ing grape sugar into glucose. Cane soured by the borer is sim- 



Life ill the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 93 

ilar to that which is rat-eaten, and the expense of frequently 
stripping the older leaves at the base is very great. 

Some planters argued that it were cheaper to stand the loss 
from the action of the borer than to pursue expensive strip- 
ping. Such a line of conduct can only result in giving the 
borer the opportunity to multiply immeasurably, and would 
not only be injurious to any particular plantation, but also to 
those in the vicinity. It is the same principle on which mu- 
nicipal governments demand of all inhabitants a cleanliness 
in their surroundings for sanitary reasons. The good agricul- 
turist will not only keep his fields free from weeds, but will 
also persevere in his endeavors to exterminate such pests of 
insect or animal life as militate against the welfare of his 
crops for his own sake. 

Different planters have varied opinions in regard to the de- 
tails of cultivation of cane. One for instance, whose lands 
were under irrigation, insisted that it was unnecessary to 
plow the whole land and that to trench across the plain merely 
where the cane was to be planted was sufficient. He held that 
such procedure involved the use of less water, holding that 
disturbed soil would by capillary attraction absorb more water. 
He was unacquainted with the action of the air and its benefi- 
cent effect on plant life. The skin formed on lands, during 
non-use. largely prevents the circulation of the life-giving air 
to the rootlets, which aids much in causing the fermentation 
necessary for the production of plant-food found in the soil. 

In studying animal economy it is discovered that the animal 
is merely dift'erent from the plant in that its rootlets (the villi 
of the intestines) are on the inside instead of outside. That the 
food masticated, digested, and converted in,to life-sustaining 
matter must by fermentation (which is life forming) be in a 
proper state for absorption, or such absorption by the villi will 
be abortive. Should the food which is taken into the animal 
system be mixed with certain chemicals, salicylic acid for 
instance, which is destructive to the animalculae produced dur- 
ing fermentation, no benefit will accrue to the animal. 

The whole theory of life is that one life lives on another. 
In plant life it is simiilar, and the food to be properly digested 
or assimilated must be in the right stage. The action of air 
and water on soils has the peculiar tendency of promoting 
the very life-giving food upon which the plant depends. To 
contend, therefore, that the prevention of the underground cir- 



94 The Master Planter. 



culation of the air is as beneficial as the promotion of such 
circulation, betrays an ignorance unaccountable in the farmer 
of the nineteenth century. 

Our agricultural colleges teach these matters, and farmers' 
sons on returning from school find their parents practicing 
them, although unable to give reasons for such methods, 
farther than "custom has shown it to be the most advantag- 
eous." Lazy, or pseudo-economical farmers, who know that 
nature's laws require that land must lie idle at least one year in 
seven, who fail to plow up such land prior to giving it the 
requisite rest, never realize the crops that the intelligent cul- 
tivator does. 

Some fearful mistakes have been made by parvenu, or par- 
ties who have acquired large capital in other walks in life, who 
have gone into sugar culture and attempted to direct the culti- 
vation their way. However, they received their lessons, and 
with burnt fingers have retired. There is probably no business 
wherein the losses occasioned by mastakes or ignorance are 
greater than that of sugar culture, and few agricultural pur- 
suits which reward the educated farmer to the extent that it 
does. To know the nature of this grass, for it belongs to 
the grass family, the soil best adapted to the different varie- 
ties of it, to properly cultivate and nurse the soil by adding 
its complement, manure and fertilizer, and finally to preserve 
the whole juice of the plant in its crystallized form and then 
to obtain the highest market price for the product, might 
well engage the study of the thoughtful man. Every boor is 
not cut out for a planter, although many have made miserable 
attempts. 

Probably in no part of the tropical world has so much scien- 
tific study been given to sugar as in the Hawaiian Islands, and 
the success attained has warranted the time and expense de- 
voted to it. Cane grows well at all elevations below 2000 feet, 
but at the higher altitudes it takes longer to bring to maturity. 
The raising of sugar has been conducive to making landings 
on precipitous coasts where in former days it was not thought 
to be practicable to land, and therefore has done much toward 
developing the whole islands. 



CHAPTER XX 



THE NEW MANAGER MAKES INNOVATIONS THAT STARTLE THE 

"SILURIANS/"' 

OUR hero methodically and systematically arranged the 
gangs of men under the different lunas or overseers, 
each luna knowing the previous evening what his par- 
ticular line of work was to be on the following day. By this 
system no time was lost. He also found it economical to 
carry the men on carts to the fields when working at a dis- 
tance, rather than have them straggling along to the place of 
work, arriving more or less tired. He became accjuainted with 
each man in his employ, and they all knew that he was in- 
terested in them and their families. It paid in other ways than 
pecuniarily to be acquainted with them. His wife visited the 
quarters and encouraged the wives in many little ways in 
which a whole-hearted woman can well do, and they grew 
to love her. A little care in regard to the homes of the men 
returned fourfold the expense put out on them. Instead of the 
long series of rooms, separated by rough board partitions, 
where no privacy could be had and which could never be m^ade 
to feel like home, there soon grew up little villages of cheap 
homes. Soon each of these cottages had its little garden, for 
which seed was freely provided. In after pages we will show 
a further improvement in these homes. 

Fruits grow very freely in the tropics where any shelter 
can be obtained. The papaia, one of the most healthful of 
the tropical fruits, produces luxuriously, and within one year 
from planting the seed the gardener may expect a crop, and 
one which will be continuous for some years to come. When 
the fruit has reached its growth, and just before ripening, it 
makes one of the most wholesome vegetables. When ripe, its 
daily use contributes towards digestion, and is very much 
sought after by those who know its value. On the sheltered 
side of house or high stone walls it produces the best results. 
Chickens and pigs are very fond of it, and it is verv fatten- 



96 The Master Planter ; or 

ing to the latter, while its seed appears to cause the former to 
lay eggs abundantly. Its cultivation has been neglected, but 
on this plantation each laborer had a few trees in his little garden. 

The Chinese are great consumers of vegetables, and were 
delighted at having a little patch of garden given them wherein 
they could raise their greens, melons, cucumbers, squash, etc. 
Without water it was difficult to do much, but they readily 
accustomed themselves to the climate and such as proved best 
were cultivated. There was nothing on the ranch that "Kan- 
sas" thought beneath him, and that he did not try to improve. 

It had a fine herd of cattle, but like other places, the singular 
anomaly existed that milk and butter were scarce on the 
planter's table. He speedily rectified this, and in a few months 
his agents were selling Makawao butter at fifty cents a pound. 
Also, every family had a quart of milk delivered at its door. 
This was a small affair compared to the innumerable herd of 
hand-fed calves he was raising for work cattle and for beef. 
One of the treats to a visitor was to be taken to the milking 
paddock and see the breaking in of cows which had never 
been hand-milked, and the feeding of the calves. The natives 
made very good dairymen, and after being instructed by 
"Kansas" as to the manner in which he wished the stock to 
be cared for, were able to conduct this part of the estate 
without much direct supervision. When a cow was to be 
m'ilked, she found it was useless to make any objections. The 
native would fasten her head securely and then, having pushed 
her up against a wall, he would thrust his head into her side, 
and then resistance was useless on her part. In two or three 
days the most obstreperous animal would submit willingly to 
be milked. The calves were kept in a field apart from their 
mothers, and when the cow was milked as much as was con- 
sidered sufficient the milker would call the name of the calf, 
and to note how quickly "Pain-Killer," "Nigger," "Puakea," 
"Rose," or whatever its appellation was, would separate itself 
from the herd of calves and come to the gate, was surprising 
and instructive. The facility with which calves learned the 
names given them was always as much of a marvel as the 
ingenuity of the natives in naming them. These names stuck 
to them^ through life, and a tourist would be amused to note a 
team of three yoke of cattle denominated, perhaps "Abraham" 
and "Lincoln" and "Nigger" or "Puakea" and "Rose" and "Mo- 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 97 

lasses," until the combinations could but arouse the risibilities of 
the observer. 

Plowing by means of cattle was not to "Kansas's"' liking, 
and he was the first on the islands to change the system to 
horse and mule work, firstly because the latter were so much 
easier fed, and secondly because the latter were so much more 
tractable and quicker in the work. Still all these changes 
took time, and eventually both cattle and horses were dis- 
])ensed with, except in parts where it was most convenient to 
use horses. 

He established a nursery shortly after taking charge, and 
from this was enabled to set out thousands of trees along the 
miles of stone fences. These soon began to attract attention, 
some old Silurians predicting that he would bring the planta- 
tion to grief through the amount of money and time spent on 
tree-planting. The little church, the school house, the neat 
laborers' cottages, all kept well whitewashed, presented from 
a distance a beautiful picture against the green slope whereon 
the plantation was situated. 

During his management he took the different overseers into 
his confidence, and in a nice way inculcated ideas in the mat- 
ter of handling men. All the laborers were under contract and 
their work was compulsory to a degree, but he tried to eliminate 
any show of force and would have his officers lead rather than 
coerce them. This contract system had arisen under the laws 
regulating the whaling business, which were no doubt very ap- 
plicable to the mei chant marine, but "Kansas" felt that it was 
not quite the thing for agricultural service. 

Theoretically it is right that men should fulfill their agree- 
ments when they go into them voluntarily, and civilly we compel 
men to do so under penalty of pecuniary loss or sometimes by in- 
junctions of court. Still, there was in this system much that 
smacked of slavery, and gave critics of the system a handle for 
condemning the products of the islands on account of their being 
produced under it. Sometimes the "shipping" was not wholly 
volunteer and coercion was used to make men "ship" or renew 
their articles of agreement. And again the very character of the 
natives was such that they lived without any foresight, and when 
difficulties overtook them they did not hesitate to "ship" for a 
long term to get an advance to assist a relative or friend — and 
the individual was seldom benefited by the sum of money he ob- 
tained. 



CHAPTER XXI 

TREATING OF THE ONE-TIME CONTRACT LABOR CONDITIONS ON 
THE SUGAR PLANTATIONS. 

TO our hero the contract which he signed had been, as it was 
to many others, merely an imaginary hne, as we speak 
of the equator, and which in no way interfered with his 
hberties. It did, however, bring him within the class dominated 
"contracted men," and amongst the free mechanics he was looked 
down upon ; although "Kansas" had not felt the weight of his 
"contract" in any manner, farther than the possession of a feel- 
ing that he was legally bound and could not wriggle out from 
under it if he was so inclined. As a matter of fact it was to 
him, and to 95/100 of the men, and women too, an imaginary 
line which bounded his liberties. To those who entered into the 
contract without compulsion, either moral or physical, it w^as no 
mental burden. 

The native population, knowing they always had the dernier 
ressoi't of "shipping," as signing a contract was called, when they 
got into difficulties flew to the sugar planter for an "advance" to 
pay off some pressing debt, or the burial expenses of a relative 
or friend. This was the planter's opportunity, and he invariably 
secured himself by taking an acknowledged obligation that the 
party would agree to work a certain length of time at a definite 
rate. The majority of planters treated their men well, and 
seldom had occasion to quote to them the penalty prescribed by 
law in cases where there was a refusal to perform duty. 

Planters, however, are human, and amongst them and their 
overseers there was a variety. Some parvenu would "ride at 
every opportunity," as the boys say, i. e., he would seldom miss 
the chance of nagging his men and telling them what he would 
do with them in case they were not on hand in the morning, or 
if the slightest lapse from the full quota of their duties was dis- 
cernible. Planters frequently put men in as lunas, or overseers, 
wdio had been sailors, and of all the men to "ride," a man who 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 99 

has been before the mast for years and whose head has daily been 
shampooed with a belaying pin in the hands of a brutal mate, 
such a one will take the prize. 

The native is a good-natured, willing and apt laborer, and a 
man of a very forgiving or forgetting disposition. Rarely one 
is found who is revengeful or malicious. Constant nagging will 
even spoil such dispositions. Frequently on plantations, when 
a man was haled to court and inquiry made into the cause of the 
desertion of labor, it developed that the perpetual "driving" of 
the luna had resulted in the man becoming uninterested in his 
work, and a temptation offering, he had faded to put in an ap- 
pearance in the morning. In the first instance the judge would 
remand the culprit to his work, (costs payable by the definquent). 
On a repetition of the ofifense the penalty would be a fine of five 
dollars, in either instance the culprit to be imprisoned until such 
times as he was willing to obey. In a third repetition the fine 
would be ten dollars. 

A local resident could not contract for a longer term than 
five years, but a contract made abroad could be made for ten 
years, to date from the day of his arrival in the country. On 
the death of the employer, the contract was cancelled by opera- 
tion of law, but this was avoided by the employer having a part- 
ner (real or fictitious), in which case the contract was not af- 
fected by the death. Many plantations kept stores, and, while 
makmg a profit on goods furnished to laborers, managed to keep 
them in debt, and at the end of one contract a man would be in- 
duced to "ship" again to get an advance to square the debt. By 
this process the continuance of the contract would be interminable. 
Frequently a native would contract to get the means to buy 
a horse, and the uncontrollable desire to possess a horse and 
gratify his desire for riding would entail many years of servi- 
tude. Planters, like the rest of humanity, were not all martinets, 
and generally speaking were kind to their men. 

Occasionally a planter would forget himself so far as to ex- 
pose his innate contemptible disposition by an act or language 
which brought obloquy on the whole contract system ''One 
for instance, who was enraged at a Norweigian contract laborer' 
tor some infraction of duty, peremptorilv ordered him "to roll a 
large rock up a hill and down again" until it pleased the planter 
to order him to desist. 

This exhibition of power over a man had a far-reaching influ- 



100 The Master Planter; or 



ence in bringing the whole system into disrepute. White men 
did not hke to work on a plantation where they would be even 
suspected of being "shipped." Our hero knew that he was de- 
spised by men inferior to him in education, the only standard he 
would use in gauging men, and whose private lives were far 
from being such as should be held up as ideals for the young to 
follow. Probably had they known his intention in assuming the 
"yoke of servitude" they might have been more tolerant, but to 
him it had been a mere incident. He and his employer had been 
on sociable terms almost from his initiation, and he had often been 
consulted by him on matters pertaining to cultivation and to the 
best adapted form of agricultural implements. 

"Slaves will talk," is an old Roman saying, and is as true in 
modern times. The different plantations were canvassed by the 
mechanics at the meal hours, and the rumors of their respective 
good or ill-management was discussed. Some of the men had 
worked on other plantations, and depicted the miserable quarters 
provided for the laborers, some holding that the work cattle and 
mules had better quarters. The houses were mere shells, shelters 
from the sun, wind and rain, put up without the slightest regard 
for sanitation or privacy. Naturally, men could never be brought 
to look on them as homes or take an interest in improving their 
surroundings. 

Our hero found that a slight outlay for cheap, pretty wall paper 
was much appreciated. That a little investment in chmbing vine 
seeds soon spoke for itself in the manner in which outhouses 
were covered. Natives and Chinese alike vied with each other in 
making pretty arches and ornamentations for their verandas. 

The native women, proverbially noted for their love of flowers, 
were easily induced to plant little parterres of phlox, carnations, 
crocus, tuberose, fuchsias, and others for which the elevation 
and climate were admirably adapted. He showed them many 
little tricks in gardening, and their appreciation of such interest 
in them was shown by their adapting tubs and cans of infinite 
variety as flower pots wherein little palms and vines garnished 
their homes within and without. Some natives who had been ac- 
quainted with the woods brought therefrom peculiar ferns and 
rare vines which had never been cultivated in the gardens of the 
rich. 

To recite the numerous minor and greater improvements which 
he instituted would take more space than necessary. Many of 



Life ill the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 101 

them were subjects of comment by his neighbors, and the factors 
in Honolulu were kept duly posted of "infringements" on what 
they considered the correct method of managing such an estate. 
The owner in the East was written to, and many times he was on 
the point of writing and insisting on a resumption of the former 
pseudo-economical management, but his wife intervened and re- 
minded him of his obligation to "Kansas" and of his perfect 
confidence in him when on Maui. As yet he had not assailed the 
mill, but he purposed putting in such labor-saving machinery as 
would be up-to-date in economy as he considered necessary. 

Finally he wrote the owner of his intentions, and the reasons 
therefor, and received a prompt reply "to touch nothing in the 
mill, as it pleased the owner to carry that as it had been." Now 
our hero felt that he had run against a stone wall, and he must 
wade through another grinding season and see at least a third 
of his crop go up the chimney or into the molasses drain, or be 
lost through lack of complete expressing. It was a very sad state 
of afifairs, and he felt peculiarly handicapped as he could not, by 
the appliances they had, make a showing of what his ingenuity 
had done in the way of better cultivation, etc. He itched to be 
the owner and have unlimited capital to do with as his experience 
warranted. 



CHAPTER XXII 



OUR HERO HAS A NAME AT LAST — AND AN OLD-TIME FRIEND AP- 
PEARS WITH ABUNDANT CAPITAL. 

THE new manager retired to his office evening by evening 
and planned the work of this estate, and was gradually 
getting every part of it into producing as it should ; and 
now he must stop building castles in the air and, metaphorically, 
put a ball and chain on his leg. A trip to Honolulu and a con- 
sultation with his agents availed him nothing. They had not ap- 
proved of many of his improvements, and would not on their 
own responsibility follow him into new furnaces and machinery 
for the mill as well as an extra set of rollers. It was not the 
first time agents had set up their knowledge of the management- 
ship of a plantation in opposition to the views of a practical man, 
to the ultimate loss of the plantation. 

They had met the wrong man this time. When "Kansas" parted 
with the chief of the agency he remarked, "You will be sorry in 
the near future for not making the improvements I suggest." 
The agent answered, "We can afford to stand it." To which 
"Kansas" replied that they would admit their error when it was 
too late, as he was very much interested in the matter and his 
reputation was at stake. 

If we go back a little to a period a few weeks earlier we 
will find the reason our hero had so much confidence in himself, 
and also of his ability to carry out any scheme he should project. 

One evening, while he was dressing for dinner, the jingling 
of spurs was heard, and he judged that some travelers had stop- 
ped over for a meal and probably for a night's lodging. This 
was so common an occurrence that an extra chair was always 
placed at the table. The servants conducted the strangers to 
rooms, and when dinner was ready they were informed of the 
fact. Two gentlemen came into the dining room, one of whom 
proved to be the U. S. Geological Commissioner, the other a 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 103 

stranger. Our hero was delighted to meet the Commissioner 
and foresaw another evening or two of good company. The 
Captain had heard of our hero's changed circumstances while at 
Ulupalakua, and was not surprised. His companion was intro- 
duced, and they sat down to dinner. 

The stranger looked intently at "Kansas" and his wife, and 
finally ejaculated, "Eab." The lady immediately arose, and 
walking around placed her hands on the stranger's shoulders, 
saying, "Charley Collins, I know you." Then a handshaking 
took place such as only long parted friends can appreciate. This 
was the friend they had followed to Grass Valley from Wichita, 
and he was overjoyed to meet them. 

"What did you mean by saying 'Eab,' " asked the Captain ? 

"That is merely the initials of his name," answered ColHns. 
"He always called me 'Colly' and I dubbed him 'Eab.' His name 
is Ethan Allen Breed, and we thought there was too much of it." 

"Are you any connection of the Breeds of Boston, of Breed's 
Hill?" asked the Captain. 

"Yes, I have the honor of being descended from them, and 
from the family of Ethan Allen," answered our hero. 

"My dear sir, if you had let it be known you were from Bos- 
ton, and especially a descendant of Revolutionary sires, the 
Americans of Honolulu would have worshipped you as the na- 
tives did Captain Cook," said the Commissioner. 

"But he is not that kind of a Breed," remarked Collins ; "and 
when you know him as well as I do you will find that he depends 
on his own head and hands, and not on any accidental ancestry." 

The story of the acquaintance between Collins and Breed 
(for our hero now has a name) was soon told. They werq 
schoolmates and grew up together on neighboring farms. Both 
had courted the same girl, and Breed won her. Their friend- 
ship continued, and they moved west together and battled for the 
right in Kansas. Collins, having no home, had caught the Cali- 
fornia fever; and this was their first meeting since the Kansas 
days. After dinner came the pleasant chit-chat on the veranda 
until Mrs. Breed took the children to bed, when they retired to 
the office. Here Breed ran over his experience and anticipations, 
and the geologist gave considerable advice which was eagerly ab- 
sorbed by Breed. 

After the Captain had retired, Collins told of his ups and 
downs. He had mined in all the different parts of California, 



104 The Master Planter; or 

Mexico, Colorado and Arizona, in which latter place he had met 
the Commissioner. He had made and sunk fortunes, and had 
discovered that there was more gold to be made in "milking the 
market" in San Francisco than in any mining operation ; and in 
teaching the "mud hens" to lay golden eggs in the stock ex- 
change there was more profitable amusement than in putting up 
grub stakes for miners or prospectors. He had amassed a large 
fortune and still felt a thrill of pleasure in adding to it. His 
chair in the Stock Exchange brought him a very fair income, 
and he was director in various companies, many of which brought 
him more than ioo% per annum. He had not married, as he 
had led a nomadic life, and now that he had acquired more than a 
competency had no inclination that way, partly because those 
whom he would have would not have him, and those who sought 
him he would not have. He had long desired to visit the Ha- 
waiian Islands, and knowing his friend, the Commissioner, was 
here, he tore himself away from his business for a pleasure trip. 
He was overjoyed to meet his old-time friends, and remarked to 
Breed that if he had any schemes in which capital could be in- 
vested that he would furnish it to any reasonable amount. 

"Eab," said he, "you were always a schemer from away back, 
and if the lines had fallen on you in pleasant places you would 
have been a millionaire many times over; are you not even now 
planning some great scheme?" 

"Well, Charley," answered Breed, "no one of brains can climb 
to the village of Makawao and look abroad on this grand vista 
and not allow his imagination to run riot with the possibilities of 
the great expansion of sugar culture which capital could efifect. 
I have dreamed of it, and figured it out on paper, and can lay 
before you such a plan that if put in operation will lay in the 
shade the production of any gold mine in California, and the 
best of it is that the returns will be interminable and it is honest. 
No heart aches come from the possession of wealth acquired from 
the cultivation of the soil, as must come to a sensitive mind who has 
profited by the 'salting of a mine,' 'furnishing untrue reports of 
the prospects,' and thereby causing widows and orphans to in- 
vest their whole to their certain loss, etc. Even booming town- 
sites as was done in Kansas was a very questionable manner of 
making profits." 

"Eab," said Collins, "I always knew what you were thinking 
of, for you had imbibed from your mother the fundamental prin- 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 105 

ciple of honesty. When we carried guns together in Kansas I 
felt that you were the kind of man to tie to. Tell me your 
scheme, Eab, and I will furnish the money, should it require $io,- 
000,000." 

Breed then produced the maps of the estate of which he was 
manager, and also a large one of the whole island. "Now 
Charley," said he, "if I had control of $10,000,000 I would buy 
up the plantations of Haiku, Hamakua-poko, Paia, Grove Ranch, 
East Maui, Waihee, Wailuku, and Waikapu, giving the owners 
their own prices. The whole plains below here can be leased 
for a very long term at a low rental, as it is and has been non- 
productive. I would thus have control of all the surplus water of 
both ranges of mountains. In two years I can have 40,000 acres 
of land in cane, and I will guarantee to produce three tons per 
acre at a cost not to exceed thirty dollars per ton. This will 
amount to 120,000 tons of sugar, on which we can safely estimate 
a profit of five and one-half cents per pound, or $13,000,000. 
Granted that prices may fall from seven cents per pound, is there 
not still a very large profit ? 

"It is costing now seventy-five dollars per ton to produce sugar, 
but eventually I will produce it for thirty dollars. At present 
No. I sugar is selling at eleven cents per pound, but the crop 
does not average over seven cents. I have still left an enormous 
margin of which I have not spoken, viz : that I know I can make 
these lands yield from four to six tons per acre. The manage- 
ment, under one head, will be true economy, and the ownership 
of the entire water system will ensure good crops." 

Collins followed his friend through the proposed details of the 
division of labor, planting, fertilizing, irrigating, manufacturing, 
shipping and marketing. 

"Yes, Eab," said he, "I knew that Yankee brain of yours could 
not be idle, and with the exception that you may have over-esti- 
mated the number of acres you could get into cane in the given 
time, I believe you. Why, Eab, with such a Machiavellian 
scheme as that I could float a joint-stock company and milk the 
market not only of San Francisco, but of Wall Street." 

"There you go again, Charley," said Breed, "always scheming 
to get the better of the masses of unsophisticated people who 
haunt your stock market. If you will not abet my plan of bring- 
ing wealth from the soil, and furnishing living for thousands of 



106 The Master Planter. 

employees and their families, please forget the scheme I have un- 
folded." 

Collins now remarks, "Eab, if you were not the man you are I 
should put you down as a lunatic, but knowing you as I do, I will 
give you credit for being an honest man. I will form a joint- 
stock company, and, relying on you, shall depend on the profits 
from the cultivation of the soil. I will carry more than one-half 
of the stock, so that I can ensure you the managementship and 
will aid the enterprise in every way possible." 

The morning star was shining brightly when these two schem- 
ers retired. Visions of untold wealth floated before one, where- 
as the immensity of the labor to be undertaken did not drive sleep 
from the eyes of the other. 

The assurances of his friend made Breed somewhat independ- 
ent in his dealings with the agents, and in after chapters will be 
unfolded the extent to which this scheme was put into operation. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

MADAM TAKES A NATIVE MAIDEN INTO HER HOUSEHOLD, AND 
HAS AN INTERESTING CHARACTER STUDY, 

IT would be wrong to omit somewhat of the part which Mrs. 
Breed took in the home-hfe, as a good woman is not entirely 
lost in the life of her husband. When they first came to the 
plantation Mary, the old parson's daughter, had volunteered to 
bring a servant girl whom she could recommend. The next day 
she brought a bright, healthy girl of pure Hawaiian stock, one of 
the original and unsophisticated country girls. She was about 
ten years of age and was as large as an Eastern maiden of fifteen. 
She had all the awkwardness and apparent bashfulness of the 
rustic, but Kamaka's history would make a most interesting 
chapter. She had beautiful limpid brown eyes, a head of hair 
that was a dream, in that from its fineness and luxuriance it 
would be the envy of many an Eastern belle. She wore a mam- 
moth native-made hat, on which, according to Hawaiian custom, 
was a wreath made fresh that morning from the beautiful ohia 
blossoms, of a shade between pink and red, probably magenta. 
Her dress consisted of a holoku, nearly like a "Mother Hub- 
bard," made of two shades of pink and trimmed with blue. The 
tout ensemble, from the crown of her head to the soles of her 
feet, which unfortunately were marred by Eastern shoes three 
sizes too large, produced the most charming impression, and 
captivated Mrs. Breed immediately. Her name was Kamakaui- 
lani, but Mary said it was customary to call her Kamaka, that 
being a favorite name for a child which from its intelligent face 
gave promise of a bright future. Kamaka could ride horseback 
like a rough rider, and could hitch up the team and drive through 
the plantation roads and those of the surrounding country as well 
as the most experienced postillion. 

Mary said she had been accustomed, like the rest of the na- 
tives, to horses from the time she was tall enough to grasp the 
mane, and by placing her right foot against the horse's knee to 



108 The Master Planter; or 

spring up and hook her left foot over the animal's back. Once 
seated, with or without saddle, no horse could throw her off. 
She always rode astride, catching the iron stirrup between the 
great and next toes, and with the peculiar riding dress of the 
natives made a most handsome appearance as she dashed at full 
speed across the plain or up or down the country roads. Kamaka 
soon shed her shoes and learned her duties in the household, and 
became really one of the family. Like the rest of the natives 
she was very free in her ways, and soon knew every bullock and 
mule driver on the plantation, many of whom remembered her 
sweet tooth and threw her pieces of cane in passing. At times 
Madam would attempt to check her in her freedom, but she could 
not be made to comprehend that to swing on the gate and swap 
badinage with the plantation hands was unbecoming. A child 
of nature she was, and like all the natives, could not brook being 
confined to foreign manners and deportment. She apparently 
had many parents, as on being asked who this or that person was 
she would reply that it was her father or her mother, as the case 
might be. All the brothers and cousins of a man in Hawaii are 
parents to his children, and also all the brothers, cousins and 
sisters of a woman are parents of her children. So also all of 
their children would be denominated either brothers or younger 
or older sisters. 

Evidently Kamaka was a great favorite with her people, as it 
was rarely that any of them, coming out of the wooded country 
and passing the plantation, failed to bring her a wreath or lei 
of flowers, or of the fragrant glossy leaves of the maile vine, or 
perhaps of the golden fruit of the hala. This last, while not hav- 
ing a pleasing smell to foreigners, made a beautiful and becom- 
ing wreath when worn on the bronze skin of the native. 

She spoke English very nicely, and her vocabulary steadily 
increased from her association with Americans. She was very 
fond of the children, who soon learned to love her and confide in 
her their many little secrets. As she proceeded about her duties 
she sang her sweet native airs, of which she seemed to have a 
large repertoire. All Hawaiians are exceedingly fond of music, 
either vocal or instrumental, and learn very quickly anything that 
strikes their fancy. Madam, being a good pianist, was pleased to 
give Kamaka some instruction, for which she was amply repaid 
in the rapid proficiency of her pupil. After she had acquired 
command of the instrument she readily played accompaniments 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 109 

to her native airs, and visitors at the plantation were often af- 
forded the treat of hearing in the parlor songs they had heard 
on the streets of Honolulu, or from sailors or guides around the 
islands. Not only was she good and entertaining company for 
the family, but she had many little accomplishments, the practice 
of which made her a useful member of the household. She could 
make fans from grasses or leaves of the lauhala or palm; mats 
fine or coarse from the lauhala, for the floor or table ; hats from 
a variety of materials, and also feather kahili ornaments. Also at 
making toothsome native dishes she was an adept. Some of these 
will be described in a future chapter. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

MADAM INTERESTS HERSELF IN THE NATIVES^ AND LEARNS MANY 
OF THEIR PECULIARITIES. 

MADAM visited the native quarters frequently, taking Ka- 
maka along as interpreter, and was the means of amehor- 
ating the condition of many women and children. She 
was acquainted with remedies for simple troubles of women and 
children, and distributed medicine amongst them as required. 
She also instructed them in sewing and making garments, and 
encouraged them in the manufacture of every description of 
goods from the products of the country. 

She was surprised at the indomitable perseverance of the 
women in working up beautiful patterns from hard vari-colored 
seeds of trees and shrubs. Also at the great patience displayed 
by them in weaving or plaiting hats and mats from leaves of 
palms and grasses, and the ingenuity displayed in weaving therein 
colored patterns made from stems of maiden-hair ferns or other 
colored material. Many of them were quite apt seamstresses, 
and all seemed pleased at the Madam's interest in them and thein 
work, showing their appreciation of her by adopting her sugges- 
tions in making trimming for their dresses and admiring the 
styles or modes invented by her. Also when she suggested that 
by uniting their efforts they could work somewhat effectively in 
causing a social reform in the morals of the community, they 
Guickly followed her and got up huis or societies wherein this or 
that class of work could be undertaken with great promise of suc- 
cess. 

The native women had much force with their husbands politic- 
ally, and with few exceptions the men were guided by their 
wives' advice in voting for candidates for the local legislature. 
So that really Madam was a power in the little community to a 
greater extent than she had any conception of. Kamaka proved 
to be the connecting link between the manager and the native 
people. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. Ill 

Breed told in after years of the number of her fathers he had 
assisted in burying, and their names were legion. Then occa- 
sionally a mother or father would be captured and deported for 
the crime of having leprosy. Sometimes a parent or two would 
be arrested for manufacturing "okolehao," a spirit made from 
the fermented syrup obtained by crushing the cooked ti-root. 
Now and then one of her parents would be in pilikia from lifting 
cattle, or subscribing some planter's name to the foot of a draft 
on the agents, or some other of the numerous ways foreigners 
have invented of getting the unsophisticated native into trouble. 

Poor Kamaka took all their cares into her own bosom and 
wept and sympathized with all who were in distress, expatiating! 
most earnestly to her mistress on the naughtiness of some one in 
being the means of getting her parent into pilikia. 

At times a wail would be heard from the back yard, and Mad- 
am knew that she would soon hear of another death in Kamaka's 
family. It is the custom amongst this people that when relatives 
meet after a death has occurred in the family, that a wail shall 
be made. So at times a crying could be heard before the rider 
came in sight, and Kamaka knew that another mother or father 
had gone to her or his last bourne, and would rush out prepared 
to make the obligation to the approaching mourner. These sor- 
rows, however, did not appear to make a lasting impression, as 
Kamaka would soon be found building block houses with the 
children or throwing bouquets to passing bullock drivers, at 
which she appeared to excel, or with a face as joyous as a summer? 
day hitching* up the fractious horses to take the children for a 
drive. The world to Kamaka was like the surface of a fish pond, 
usually placid, but occasionally disturbed by a ripple caused by 
some extraneous cause. Possessing an exuberance of health, 
without a care for tomorrow, she was truly happy and her happi- 
ness was contagious. None but a bilious disposition could fail 
to be enlivened by her pleasant face and jocular sayings and 
actions. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE HAPPY MARRIAGE OF KAMAKA IS FOLLOWED BY, ALAS, A TOO 
FREQUENT SEQUEL — PIQUANCY OF NATIVE COOKING. 

HAVING introduced Kamaka, who proved so much of a con- 
necting Hnk between Breed and his family and the native 
population, it would be interesting to tell more of her, as it 
affords an opportunity to further study the manners and customs 
of the natives. 

During the years that had passed Kamaka had blossomed into 
a very fine young lady. Her manners, in the presence of for- 
eigners, were as refined as should be expected from her continu- 
ous association with Mrs. Breed. She had been sought in mar- 
riage by several of the natives, and her father had engaged her 
in more than one instance to persons who were very eligible 
partis, but Kamaka scorned them. 

Finally she accepted the proposal of the plantation carpenter, 
and a great marriage feast was prepared to which all her kindred 
were invited. Of course, being the belle of the neighborhood 
and having so large a connection amongst the natives, this feast 
or luau must be the greatest event that had yet taken place on 
Maui. A great lanai, or shelter, was erected by her friends, 
the sides and roof of which was made from thatched cane leaves, 
and within this the feast was to be held. From far and near 
relatives and friends came, bringing their hookupu, as presents 
to a chief or great personage are called. Native manufacturers 
of kapa, kou calabashes, Niihau mats, feather kahilis, emblems 
from ancient times in the form of idols in wood, feather and 
stone, in fact everything mentionable dear to the heart of the Ha- 
waiian was brought as tributes to the love of the people for 
Kamakauilani. 

Horses, cattle, turkeys, chickens, pigs, fish, limu or sea-weed, 
kukui-nuts, cocoanuts, fish-nets, etc., etc., were driven or carried 
to the plantation house as wedding presents. Three bullocks, 
twenty hogs or pigs, innumerable fish, and fowl, and last, but not 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 113 

least, three dogs were slaughtered to furnish food for the multi- 
tude. 

The quantity of poi, sweet potatoes, cocoanuts, kukui-nuts, 
limu, and raw fish which was prepared cannot be reckoned. 

The making of native puddings from taro and cocoanut, sweet 
potatoes and cocoanut, and arrow root and cocoanut, kept many 
native stewards busy for some days. Several inms or native 
baking ovens were occupied in cooking the assorted beef, pork, 
fowl and fish. , 

The manner of native cooking is most interesting, and it has 
frequently been asserted by epicures that food prepared in Ha- 
waiian fashion has a piquancy about it that is very satisfying. 

A large hole is dug into which wood is piled and covered with 
stones. The bullock, hog or fowl having been cut up into pieces 
to which salt is added, is wrapped in bundles in ti-leaves. After 
the fire has burned out the hot stones are leveled ofif and quickly 
covered with banana leaves and all these bundles piled up into a 
pyramid and the whole covered with leaves and finally heavily 
topped with sods and is allowed to stand for several hours. 

On opening such an oven the different food-stuffs are usually 
found to be thoroughly and appetizingly cooked. 

Mention must not be forgotten of the luau or taro leaves, 
from which the feast takes its name. These are done up in 
bundles and either wrapped with the beef, pork, etc., or cooked 
in separate packages. This is one of the most delicious and 
succulent of "greens." 

It is said that large quantities of "okolehao" found its way 
(unknown to the planter) to the vicinity of where the feast was to 
take place. 

The poi for the feast was served in home-made bowls or con- 
tainers which are fashioned most ingeniously and quickly by 
the expert natives. They take a five-pound lard tin and fold 
over it ti-leaves, around which a cord of woven leaf is fastened. 
Then by folding back the ends of the leaves and wrapping the 
woven ferns around it, and slipping the whole off the mold, a 
cleanly cheap bowl is provided. Our reader will note that no 
washing of dishes would follow a native luau, as it was merely 
necessary to throw the lot of bowls away and they are quickly 
eaten by cattle or hogs. 

The natives dearly love a luau, and the story of its arrange- 
ments and success or failure constitute the theme of conversa- 



114 The Master Planter; or 

tion in many homes in the vicinity for a long time, or until it 
is eclipsed by a greater affair of the kind. 

The parlors of the planter's house were thrown open for the 
occasion, and Kamaka, dressed in white with a beautiful wreath 
of natural orange blossoms interwoven with the dark glossy 
leaves of the fragrant maile, attended by a bevy of native girls 
similarly dressed, marched up to the old parson at the end of 
the room where she was met by the brave carpenter. The mar- 
riage service in English was gone through, and innumerable 
friends came forward to congratulate the handsome couple. 
Felicitations being over, the bridal pair led the way to the lanai, 
where the feast was spread. Hundreds of guests sat down on 
the rushes which covered the ground, men and women alternately 
around the immense spread. 

As they came from the wedding each guest was decorated with 
a wreath of flowers and maile, and the whole made a very beauti- 
ful scene. At each plate, or rather place, for leaves of the ti 
were used in lieu of plates and banana leaves in lieu of table 
damask, the stewards had placed bundles each of fish, fowl and 
flesh, as well as a green bowl of poi together with clam shells 
filled with inamona. 

After the feast, which was accompanied with music from a 
company of trained singers, all departed to their homes, the ma- 
jority carrying away bundles of the excess of foodstuffs. In a 
hundred homes the wedding and the feast was talked of for 
many days. Kamaka's beauty, and how fortunate that white 
man was to get such a delicious ripe fruit (hua pala) ; how much 
I ate and drank, the songs that had been composed in her honor, 
were the comment of every guest. 

After Kamaka had been married three months she told her 
husband, one day, that she was going to see her mother. She 
failed to come back that evening, and the following day he went 
to look for her. Her people said that she had been there and 
had gone off with one of the bullock drivers from the plantation 
who had met her there. 

In a few days it was discovered that she had fled to Hana in 
company with this paramour, who had "shipped" on the Hana 
plantation, forgetting the debt he owed to our hero. To "ship" 
doubly was a serious offense, and it was considered necessary 
to make examples of such offenders, so a policeman was sent 
after him. He had expected to be hunted up, and when the 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 115 

policeman put in an appearance, of which he was duly warned, 
he and Kamaka fled to the fastnesses of the mountains, where 
search would be difficult and probably dangerous. 

The carpenter made no effort to pursue her, but his life was 
broken up and he took to drink and was discharged. 

Kamaka and her lover got away to Honolulu, where in a few 
months he shipped as a sailor on a whaleship and was heard of 
no more. She with her little half-white son was a figure on the 
streets for some years, and finally perished in an epidemic of 
smallpox. On account of her education and accomplishments 
she was the belle of her class, and many stories are told of the 
wrecks she left behind her in the metropolis. She retained her 
beauty and innocent expression of features and charming man- 
ners until the last. 



CHAPTER XXVI 



MRS. BREED LEARNS HOW TO PREPARE AND PRESERVE THE MANY 
DELICIOUS NATIVE FRUITS. 

MRS. Breed found that housekeeping on the islands was a 
much more difficult proposition than in the East and in 
California. To add to the cares, it was necessary to en- 
tertain much company, as there were no hotels to which a 
stranger could go, and it had been the custom all over the islands 
to receive any tourists or travelers who might come along. She 
had been brought up in all the little arts which make towards 
the comfort of home, but it was not possible to do with her own 
hands as she had been accustomed. The climate was somewhat 
trying, and with her growing family and the multiplicity of visi- 
tors she found her time taxed to the uttermost. It frequently 
happened that every bed in the house would be required, and the 
table had its quota filled. With a good supply of eggs, butter 
and milk, and a well filled pantry of canned goods, it merely re- 
quired a little more work on her part to enable her to set such a 
table as she liked. Sometimes it was felt burdensome to enter- 
tain strangers whom there was no likelihood of ever meeting 
again, and who left without apparently being grateful for the 
hospitaHty extended. Then again "angels in disguise" were met, 
the pleasure of whose acquaintance amply repaid her for any 
extra trouble. 

In the East she had learned the culinary accomplishments of 
making jellies, drying fruits, and making preserves, as well as of 
canning fruits ; and in Hawaii, as far as she was able, she added 
to her stores any island fruits which she thought would be nice 
to have between seasons. 

She found that mango sauce, made from mangoes which had 
attained full size, was equally as nice as green apple sauce. Also 
the mangoes when cut up and dried were much preferable to 
dried apples for pies. 

She always kept a few jars of tamarinds, laid down in layers 
of sugar, which made a pleasant, subacid and wholesome drink. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 117 

From the mountain the natives brought her ohelos, akalas, and 
pohas in season, and she soon learned to treat them in such 
manner that they were very palatable. Ohelos {v. reticiilatum) 
are extremely abundant at the higher altitudes of Haleakala. 
They are insipid of themselves, but, when combined with sugar 
and a little juice of lemons made a very agreeable addition to the 
dessert. The akala {R. Macraei) grows to an immense size in 
the ravines on the mountain. It is a reddish purple raspberry 
which is, unprepared, of an unpleasant bitter taste. When al- 
lowed to stand over night in sugar the bitter principle is elimin- 
ated and it makes a most delicious short-cake, preferred by many 
to strawberry. Some of the akala are an inch and one-half in 
diameter. 

The best of all the island fruits is probably the poha (Cape 
gooseberry). It makes a very piquant stew, and for making jam 
or jelly cannot be excelled. It has a peculiar flavor which can- 
not be described, but one which the stranger soon becomes very 
fond of. 

The large purple figs of Makawao, to be most enjoyed should 
be eaten direct from the tree, as when fully ripe they are a lobe of 
pure jelly. When peeled and cut up with cream and sugar they 
make a most luscious dish. 

Guavas, of several varieties, were very plentiful along the 
hedges and covering the whole stretch of the mountain side. A 
lemon guava made an excellent jelly, but the large Hawaiian red 
guava when either stewed or sliced made a very appetizing ad- 
junct to the dinner table. 

A fruit called hualilikoi, a passion fruit, the vines of which 
covered old fences like a pall, when served as a custard, barring 
the cooking, was also much appreciated. 

The banana is, however, par excellence the staple dish of the 
islands, and Madam had a great variety of ways of preparing it. 
Always bunches hung on the verandas for every one to help 
themselves to, but when cut up and served with cream and sugar 
they were preferred by many to strawberries. Fried in butter, 
or made into fritters, or boiled in water, or baked in their jackets 
or dried and made into a fragrant sweet flour which can be used 
for many purposes, the banana is the saviour of the housekeeper. 
Bananas and oranges thinly sliced and in alternate layers with 
sugar, and well cooled before serving, was described by many as 
simply delicious. 



118 The Master Planter; or 

Mrs. Breed found that making hash from a mixture of fruit 
with the addition of juice of lemon was also a way of pleasing 
the palate. 

In making marmalade and using ripe papaia as stock she 
invented something as good as apple-butter made at home. 
Papaia, itself, when fully ripe and just off the tree, served with 
snow or ice, also was delicious and made a gratifying break- 
fast dish. 

She early learned to select and cook breadfruit in a manner 
that made it possible to use it either as a vegetable or as a dessert. 
It certainly was a toothsome pudding when prepared for that pur- 
pose, i. e., when fully soft-ripe and cooked with a lump of butter 
injected in the part from which the stem had been extracted. 
When cooked before reaching the soft-ripe stage it made a vege- 
table not to be despised. 

Madam had eaten inamona, roast kukui-nut crushed with salt 
and pepper, and felt certain from its richness that it would be a 
condiment that would please an epicure, and tried her hand at 
making it in different ways. After roasting the nut and discard- 
ing the shell she crushed the kernel into a paste and added salt 
and a taste of red pepper in the natural state. This made a 
healthful and appetizing condiment and her recipe for its manu- 
facture was sought by many of the island ladies. Her husband 
remarked to her on one occasion that with advertising sufficient 
and putting it up in marketable form she might make a fortune. 
It is also very nice when the kernel is merely broken into grains 
and eaten dry with baked fish or pig. 

In her preparation of chutney was probably where Madam 
excelled. There are many kinds of mangoes on the islands, all 
of which have been imported. One especially is denominated 
the chutney mango on account of its freedom from the stringy- 
ness common to most of them. Like anything else in this life, 
if we would have anything good we must put labor and value 
in it. So to prepare chutney, as we find it best from India, we 
must have mangoes, orange peel, spices, and vanilla, and raisins, 
as well as the knowledge of the proportions of each necessary 
for success. 

The Chinese cook whom Madam found on the plantation, and 
who had been so long there that he was considered a fixture, was 
decidedly averse to any innovations in his manner of cooking, 
and resented any interference in his kitchen. He soon found 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 119 

that Mrs. Breed was going to control her household and gradu- 
ally learned from her many little improvements in preparing 
dishes. He called her "Mamma" and was as much interested in 
the housekeeping as she herself. He would keep her informed 
of what was to be had in the way of fruits, and would saddle a 
horse and ride for miles to procure a roaster, or to order fruits 
from those who were accustomed to collect such on the moun- 
tain. 

The cook had learned the art of making delicious cakes from 
taro, both fried and baked, and kept up the reputation of the 
ranch as a place where a traveller was sure of a good meal. 
Some of those good old Chinese cooks can be compared favor- 
ably with many of the old mammys of the South. 

While we are not writing a cook-book, nor compiling a lot of 
recipes for the preparation of Hawaiian dishes, yet we feel that it 
would be interesting to many readers to show somewhat the part 
which the lady of the house took in aiding her husband and mak- 
ing life in the tropics more pleasant. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

MADAM EMBELLISHES HER HOME WITH NATIVE CURIOS THAT AT- 
TRACT THE CHARMED ATTENTION OF VISITORS. 

IN the embellishing of her house with curios collected through- 
out the islands, giving it a unique appearance as compared 
with homes in other lands, Madam was indefatigable in her 
pursuit of every thing Hawaiian. Some of her chairs, for in- 
stance, were covered with lauhala leaves woven in such manner 
as to cover the backs, rounds and legs, and were quite odd. A 
cane tete-a-tete similarly covered, wherein the stripes were made 
of flattened maiden-hair fern stalks, as it stood in the middle of 
the parlor, attracted the attention of the stranger, and was favor- 
ably commented upon. The pictures of island scenery which 
embellished all the rooms, together with the large collection of 
copies of island fruits and flowers which adorned her dining- 
room, were as beautiful as pictures of foreign scenes ; and it 
was a patronizing of home industry which encouraged the 
local artists. 

In another chapter we will tell of the education of her chil- 
dren, which absorbed so much solicitude on the part of Breed 
and his wife, the supervision of which naturally fell to the 
mother. 

In working with the women, Mrs. Breed knew that the only 
way she could make her efforts effective was to provide em- 
plo)''ment for them. Prayer meetings and temperance meet- 
ings for discussion of methods for ameliorating the condition 
of certain families and individuals were well and had a cer- 
tain effect in making the women feel that they were influen- 
tial members of society, but in the tropics where idleness was 
a condition, she knew that there must be some incentive for 
profitable employment. Some of them worked in the fields 
and were under contract the same as the men, although this 
had to be with the consent of the husband, but these were 
looked down upon by their free sisters. 

Of the ingenuity and application of the women in making 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 121 

many articles from the seeds, grasses, palms, and fibers, she 
knew, and endeavored to direct their industry into lucrative 
channels. She offered to make a market for all the articles 
they could manufacture, and induced many of them to braid 
cane stalk into hat braid w^hich readily found a market among 
the straw hat manufacturers of the East, Also braid from the 
loulu palm and lauhala, which they made so prettily by blend- 
ing these with natural colored fern stalks properly ironed out. 
From the squash vine they made an exceedingly light and 
handsome braid applicable to the manufacture of ladies' hats. 
Also they made artificial flowers from the same, and were 
quite adept at using aniline dyes for coloring. 

From a fine rush or grass some of them made hats which 
were tough and strong and resembled the Panama of com- 
merce. Others again made a variety of articles from the hard 
and brilliant seeds of the koa, nawiliwili. and other trees. 

From the fiber of the olona others twisted fishline, which 
found a ready market in Honolulu for both fish-nets and line. 
All of these were from native growth, but many of the women 
became quite adept at machine and hand-sewing and made 
up the cotton garments of both sexes for store orders and for 
family use. Many of themi made patchwork quilts of unique 
designs, inventing their own patterns from leaves of ferns or 
bread-fruit or other trees. Still others worked incessantly at 
crochetting and tatting, and made very pretty designs which 
readily sold in town. They kept their children's clothes well 
washed and ironed, if they were made of cheap material, and 
were very particular to have them punctual at school. 

They were always pleased to have madam visit their homes, 
and it is surprising to note the improvements which took place, 
noticed principally in the little embellishments which adorned 
the walls. All the native women called her their aikane 
(friend), and while not bold or impertinent, did not appear 
shame-faced in her presence, and she always showed that 
respect for them which they m^erited. 

How much even one good woman can do by giving coun- 
tenance to her fellow-women ! How they will rise to the oc- 
casion, if we may use the expression. To preach to them only, 
had the effect of making hypocrites of them, as they were as 
apt as other people in presenting their best side to the 
preacher; but to recognize them and visit them in a friendly 
way brought out all that was best in them. 



122 The Master Planter. 



Mrs. Breed was perhaps peculiar, for she had the happy 
faculty of remembering names and could ask a native mother 
how Keoni, Pulehu or Maila was, and how they were getting 
on at school. She also had learned considerable of the lan- 
guage and gradually acquired more of it ; certainly she could talk 
enough to please them, and the natives are naturally too polite 
to laugh at a foreigner who makes errors in attempting to speak 
their language. They knew they had her sympathy in their af- 
flictions, which went further than anything else, and there is 
nothing they would not do or promise to do for her if they 
thought it would please her. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE ONCE OBSCURE "kANSAS" BECOMES OWNER AND MANAGER 
OF AN IMMENSE SUGAR ESTATE. 

BREED wrote the owner in the East, offering him for his 
plantation a sum of money, which if invested at 5 per cent., 
would realize annually as much as the receipts of the plan- 
tation had been during the last year of the owner's management. 
Acting on the advice of friends, the owner accepted the proposal. 

Breed now proceeded to purchase Haiku, Hamakuapoko, Paia, 
East Maui, and Waihee, Wailuku, and Waikapu Plantations, giv- 
ing the owners their own prices for them. Some of them will- 
ingly took stock in the new company in part payment. 

A line of steamers was placed on the route between San Fran- 
cisco and Kahului, touching at Honolulu. Immense quantities 
of machinery and pipe were landed and hundreds of men em- 
ployed in ditching between the valleys on the Koolau side of 
Haleakala, the valleys being crossed by immense wrought iron 
pipes which were true siphons. 

A permanent railroad was laid to Waihee and to Waikapu con- 
necting at Wailuku, from whence the cane was carried to a mill 
above Kahului. Another permanent line connected the other 
plantations. From these portable lines were laid into the fields, 
and it was thus possible to dispense with hundreds of mules and 
cattle and drivers heretofore used. 

A large mill was built above the site of the old one, to which 
all the cane accessible thereto was hauled. 

He acquired a long lease of the Wailuku plains and converted 
the thousands of acres there into cane-producing lands. 

Without depriving the taro lands of water, he had a sufficiency 
to supply more than sixty thousand acres. Having run his water 
ditches in Koolau at a good elevation he was enabled to throw 
the lands near Kalepolepo under cultivation, and at the same time 
save what had been wasted in all the valleys in that country by 
percolation. He built a few reservoirs where the contour of the 
land made it safe and cheap to do so, and the life-giving fluid 



124 The Master Planter; or 

flowed where it had never before, except as rain. Gradually he 
substituted steam plows for mules and cattle wherever possible, 
and these did better work both at subsoiling and cross-plowins? 
than it was the custom. 

Breed assumed the management of the whole estate, keep- 
ing four sub-managers. From the overseers on the dififerent plan- 
tations he selected the best, retaining only men who had the repu- 
tation of living moral lives and whose industry and sobriety could 
be depended upon. 

The natives flocked to him from all parts of the islands on ac- 
count of the kind treatment they received. They are much like 
children in their dispositions, and thrive best when under a chief 
or one who will manage for them. Still he was obliged to bring 
large numbers of Chinese, as laborers became scarcer. Towards 
this end he sent one of his managers to China with instructions to 
select healthy men from the rural districts and as far as possible 
to obtain those who had wives and families. 

Homes were provided for each of these, with a reservation for 
a small garden where each might raise his modicum of vegetables. 
In building these homes he adopted a method long in vogue in 
the south of France and in Italy, of building from material on 
the ground, which was much cheaper than from imported lumber. 
By using the soil combined with a certain amount of small stone 
or gravel and using molds, he built such solid structures as would 
last for centuries, and yet had a very pleasing appearance from 
a distance, and were much more comfortable and homelike than 
the long rows of shanties formerly used. As these were erected 
in little villages and some of the cottages two stories in height, 
they reminded one of similar villages in Europe. 

The common laborers did all the work of making these houses 
excepting the fittings of doors and windows and roofing. They 
cost but little more, if any, than the burlesques formerly called 
makahiki houses, or laborers' quarters. 

By a liberal policy of paying fair salaries to his managers, over- 
seers and laborers, and taking an active interest in their welfare, 
he was enabled to obtain not only the best muscle, but the best 
brain work, and this great estate was never, in a manner, de- 
pendent on the life of one man. He allowed nothing to go to 
waste and made all parts productive, importing as little as pos- 
sible of what could be raised on the estate. 

On the upper lands he produced all the wheat and oats neces- 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 125 

sary for hay and grain for his animals. Work cattle he discarded 
entirely, and the number of horses and mules used for plowing 
corners and small fields where the steam plows could noi do ef- 
tective work was very much reduced. 

In every way that ingenuity could be applied to the planting 
cultivation, and manufacture of sugar he led the way and the 
estate was visited by sugar planters from many parts of the world 
Une part of the estate was invariably visited bv all, and as it 
was Breeds own idea, well carried out, it is worth mentioning. 
He had frequently noticed the greenness of the grass in a small 
canyon and observed that the verdure there lasted much longer 
than on neighboring lands. He surmised that it was caused 
by an underground seepage from the mountain. Actino- on this 
presumption, he excavated a tunnel into the side of 1i ravine 
above and was repaid in securing quite a flow of water He 
prosecuted the work at some expense of labor and powder and 
was amply rewarded. 

He then erected a dam in the ravine below, having first built 
a very large cistern, to preserve the overflow. Thi^ seepao-e 
thus conserved, was ample to supply the mill and all the houses^Df 
the manager and men in the vicinity, and afforded enough for the 
little gardens. Probably this little invention of his made him 
more talked of than any other. 

It had long been known that the water stood in cavities in the 
rocks for some time after other sources were dried up and wild 
cattle frequently resorted there. Native cattlemen had been ac- 
customed to expect to find water in that place, a point which 
he had learned from some of his people, and he had merely fol- 
lowed a course which he had frequently seen pursued in Cali- 
fornia. In a dry land, or one which is dependent on the peri- 
odica rainfall, water m pipes is a convenience greatlv aoore- 
ciated. J t^f 



CHAPTER XXIX 

CAPITAL AND LABOR AS YOKE FELLOWS — A CO-OPERATIVE SCHEME 
THAT WORKED — CHRIST QUOTED. 

MANY incidents could be told of Breed's thoughtfulness in 
making provision for his men and their families, and as 
the years rolled around many of those men felt that the 
houses they had so long occupied and around which small orchards 
and gardens had grown up were their homes. This was precisely 
the home feeling he had sought to inculcate amongst his people, 
and it is pleasant to be able to say that the Hawaiians were not the 
only nationality who appreciated them. Quite a number of the 
Chinese had returned to China, but after a year or so had come 
back to his employ, bringing their wives and little families. 

Also many of the white men who worked on the plantation 
considered it their home, and knew they would be certain of 
promotion or of having their salaries increased if their industry, 
sobriety and interest warranted such reward. With new ma- 
chinery and railroads, portable and permanent, and the locomo- 
tives and steam-plows, there came a large increase in the foreign 
population on the estate— and this brought its concomitant so- 
cial functions. Schools, social halls, public reading rooms, and 
other public institutions sprung up which were arranged for by 
the ladies and gentlemen who lived on the extended parts of the 
estate. It did not appear that "to live was all of Hfe," as had 
been the custom and is still unfortunately the custom on so many 
plantations. 

To encourage thrift amongst the employees they were allowed 
interest on such moneys as were to their credit, and it would 
surprise any who have not taken an interest in such matters to 
note to what an extent the common laborers as well as the bet- 
ter paid men took advantage of this arrangement, and what a 
large sum it left with the estate. 

Breed, while recognizing the enormous profits in sugar cul- 
ture, felt that it was largely due to the laborer, and began to 
realize that they were not paid in proportion to the service 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haiuaii. 127 

rendered While the invested capital assumed risks, and the 
brains of the managers were entitled to the lion's share of 
the profits, It was apparent that the common laborer was un- 
derpaid. He could not remedy this by paying more, as this 
would materially affect the labor market throug-hout the 
group. * 

Being the largest owner in the estate, he succeeded in in- 
ducing the directors and stockholders to adopt a scheme of 
division of a share of the profits with the men who had so 
largely aided in producing them. It was decided to set aside 
a sum equal to 10 per cent, of the net profits and to divide 
this amongst the laborers. As "Labor A/c" showed exactly 
the sum paid out to the laboring men in contradistinction to 
Mechanics and Overseers," it was quite possible and simple 
to credit each man with a share of the allotted 10 per cent 
of the profits. For instance, where the total of "Labor A/c" 
was $90,000 and a man's pay for the year was $180, and the 
allotted sum for division was $9,000, he would receive a credit 
of $18. This was very encouraging to all employed, and grad- 
ually the interest taken in the work by the majority of the 
men was quite apparent. 

Strikes were not spoken of on this estate, as all emiployed 
knew that the manager, or owner, as he was considered, was 
in advance m thought for the welfare of all. 

Probably the prime cause of all the friction between capital 
and labor throughout the world is the cupidity of capitalists 
or employers to screw down the producer to the lowest liv- 
ing share of what he has earned. Of course there are other 
causes, but this grasping feature of mankind is the main- 
spring of the friction, and to it can be charged the poverty 
and crime of the masses. 

^^ Five hundred and fifty years before Christ. Confucius taught, 
'Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you."' 
Christ, speaking to a livelier people, taught, "Do unto 
others as you would have them do unto you." 

An obedience to this latter command would remedy all the 
labor troubles. 

But the millennium is not coming in our day. 
The cupidity of the capitalist is also the cause of the differ- 
ent Unions which have sprung up. These are right in prin- 
ciple, as single-handed the mechanic or laborer is helpless to 
compel recognition of his worth or essentiality to the pros- 



128 The Master Planter. . 



perity of the business in which he is engaged. Unfortunately, 
these Unions are led into taking part in politics, and matters 
which were not thought of at the instant of their being 
formed; and men are easily led by demagogues to do those 
things which react on themselves to the great distress of their 
dependent wives and families. 

If capitalists would unite and carefully consider and recog- 
nize the services of those who have augmented their capital 
to such an enormous degree, there would be fewer strikes, 
and the distress of innumerable families would be largely 
mitigated. 

Will this come in our day? It does not appear likely; and 
on the contrary, some men prognosticate a great war between 
capital and labor, and which may result in even radical 
changes in the forms of governments. It is to be hoped that 
wisdom will prevail, and that these two elements, so essential 
to each other, will be amalgamated. 



CHAPTER XXX 

FASCINATING SMALL FARMING APPLIED TO A BIG PLANTATION — 
WHEAT, CORN, POTATOES, BUTTER, CHICKENS, HONEY. 

AS has been several times remarked in this story of 
Breed's hfe in Hawaii, he continually noticed the lack 
of economy as practised in sugar culture on every 
plantation he had visited — but he noticed the same thing 
everywhere. In Honolulu he had seen the dependence of 
the population on importations of almost all the foodstuffs. 
With the exception of taro and a limited number of kinds of 
vegetables, every thing was imported, even to the corn and 
chicken feed. In the east the farmer raises every thing needed 
for the house, whereas in the west "ranchers" made specialties 
of wheat and barley and purchased their potatoes or butter. 

The plantations appeared to be restricted to raising cane, 
and if any one deviated from that he was criticized and his 
conduct made the theme of letters of neighbors, who prog- 
nosticated all manner of ruin that would follow. 

Breed's establishment of a nursery from whence he was 
enabled to transplant thousands of trees, both ornamental and 
fruit, did not escape the condemnation of carpers. With very 
little labor he cleared off som-e of the uplands and raised corn 
and wheat in sufficient quantities for the use of the manage- 
ment and laborers. It was admitted that it was nice to have 
fresh cornmeal; and this was appreciated by all the surround- 
ing inhabitants, who, for a slight charge, were able to pro- 
cure it. His people were easily induced to plant corn and sun- 
flovv^ers in their little gardens, and by this means to have a 
plentiful supply of food for turkeys and chickens as well as 
the "gentleman who pays the rent." 

A matter that he was very familiar with was the cultiva- 
tion of bees, and he determined to introduce them. In Kan- 
sas he had learned from a German neighbor a practical knowl- 
edge of the bee and its value in domestic economy. So much 
is it appreciated in Germany that no schoolmaster is given his 



130 The Master Planter, 



diploma without first passing an examination on bee culture. 
Prizes are given by the government annually to the best 
apiarian, and every endeavor is made to encourage the art. 

Bees are one of the most useful and lucrative appendages 
of the cottager. They produce profitable results at a trifling 
expense, and in the tropics, where they can work throughout 
the whole year, a scientific knowledge and management of 
them should pay a thousand fold on the outlay. They were 
imported from Europe to America and have now spread over 
the whole Union. The science of bee culture has had more 
written about it than probably any other, the habits and na- 
ture of the insect having absorbed the attention of many of 
the greatest philosophers. It is not the intention here to go 
into a discussion of the history of the bee in Egypt, Greece, 
Rome or of the Russian or Tartar tribes whose whole de- 
pendence is on this insect. Like anything else the American 
takes hold of, he has invented and taken out patents 
for the hives, frames, breeding boxes, mailing facilities, guide 
comb, honey extractors, etc., innumerable, and cultivates the 
bee better than it is done in any other country. 

Breed imported twenty hives and placed them in charge of 
a Chinaman, who, under his instructions, made a success of 
the venture from the beginning. In a year he had over a hun- 
dred swarms, and he distributed them in small colonies 
throughout the estate in sheltered places. He soon had more 
honey than could be consumed on the Islands, but the mar- 
kets of the world have never been surfeited with this com- 
modity. He found that by a little tact he could keep them 
producing honey continuously, and deprived them of their 
entire product. Molasses was of little value and made a good 
bee food in exchange for which he took their natural store. 
By artificial feeding and returning the comb from which the 
honey was extracted, they gave all their attention to the pro- 
duction of honey and none to wax. The hive produced from 
200 to 600 pounds per annum, which was mostly shipped to 
the markets of Europe and the United States. Without en- 
largement on the many innovations introduced by Breed, the 
reader can see the extensive field an ideal agriculturist had 
here for improvement.* 

* The Pacific Commercial Advertiser of March 28th, 1908, published 
the following report, the reading of which will prove interesting and 



CHAPTER XXXI 

"and of all that thou SHALT GIVE ME I WILL SURELY GIVE 
THE TENTH UNTO THEE" — GEN. 28:22. 

FROM his boyhood Breed had been in the habit of giving 
one-tenth of his receipts to support rehgious instruction. 
His parents, old-fashioned Methodists, had always done so, 
and his mother had impressed on him the value of so doing so 
strongly that Allen had always given a part of any gifts or 
presents he might have earned to the Missionary Society or 
his mother's church. He decided to follow up that principle 
through life and from his small salary as a teacher in a coun- 
try school in New York he laid by one-tenth. The particular 
disposition to be made of this money he retained control of; 
that is, he gave to any church he pleased, either the one most 
in need or the one which appeared to be doing the most good 
for mankind. 

From his tenth year, when he began to keep a diary, he 
kept a cash account. This w-as expanded in Kansas into a 
regular set of books, and amongst other accounts on his ledger 
he kept "Religion" account and "Charity" account. These 

profitable to any one interested in the honey industry in the Hawaiian 
Islands: 

From Aristotle to Honolulu, Dr. E. F. Phillips last evening, at the 
University Club, rapidly reviewed the history of bees, honey bees, and 
the speaker, who is one of the big men of thet Agricultural Department 
at Washington, held the close attention of about half a hundred promi- 
nent men, a number of whom are interested in bee culture, telling them 
what he had observed during his stay in these islands and the opportuni- 
ties afforded here. 

It will be remembered that not long ago there was on the mainland 
an official criticism of certain Hawaiian honey exports, the declaration 
being that the honey sent out from these islands was not Al, the infer- 
ence being in many minds that it was suggested that Hawaiian honey 
was adulterated. This was explained by Dr. Phillips as being perhaps 
on account of the shipment of what is commonly known as honey dew. 
A declaration of the fact, he thought, would avoid any trouble as far 
as the food and drug law of 1906 is concerned, and the speaker ad- 



132 The Master Planter; or 



were not blended into one, and he always had a definite dis- 
tinction in his own mind in regard to them. 

One-tenth of his earnings went to "Religion." He did not 
hesitate to charge up to this account any money paid for sub- 
scriptions for religious or non-sectarian periodicals and always 
endeavored to pass such on to the neighbors for such edifica- 
tion as they might give. However, he considered the fund 
sacred, and never used it but for the purposes for which it had 
been set aside, and this, too, as quickly as an opportunity af- 
forded for its distribution. 

In after years, when his income had become enormous, his 
"Religion" account swelled to large proportions. Struggling 
congregations in the west were frequently in receipt of money 
assistance whose donor was unknown to them. Missionary 
Societies in many parts of the States, as well as on the Islands, 
were assisted. A number of island churches were enabled to 
make necessary repairs through his help. 

His other account, "Charity," had no credit side and was 
always closed annually into his private account. His attention 
was frequently called to orphan children or children of poor 
parents, who, if the opportunity was given, might be made 
into good citizens. Many such he was able to clothe and place 
at boarding schools. 

On many occasions where the heads of families were dis- 
abled by accident or disease from supporting their families 
he had paid them regular pensions. 

vised, by way of a test ease, that someone here send a tin of honey dew 
to some friend in the mainland States -with the explanation that it was 
honey dew, or what is so-called, at the same time advising the authori- 
ties of his action. 

Just before Dr. Phillips left Washington he had a talk with the 
solicitors of the department, and the opinion was given him, for he 
asked the question in anticipation of some such explanation being of 
advantage here, that as long as the truth was told in regard to the 
nature of the goods there could be no prosecution under the food and 
drug act. 

Dr. Phillips said that he had visited the islands of Hawaii, Maui and 
Molokai, besides looking around this island, and everywhere he had 
been shown, as much as his limited time would allow, what was being 
done in the bee line. He had observed in every cane field the presence 
of the leaf-hopper, and he said that the leaf-hopper was known for the 
sticky secretion deposited on the sugar leaf. 

Such secretions, the secretions of the leaf-hopper and other insects. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haivaii. 133 



So many had thus got on his pension roll either as students 
or decrepit that he feared in case of his death they would 
sufit'er. To avert such a catastrophe he had insured his Hfe in 
a large sum payable to the executors of his will, in trust to 
continue these benefactions. Men called Breed "lucky," and 
asserted that anything which he undertook prospered, some 
saying they would like to rub their hands on his back to ob- 
tain some of his luck. Perhaps proper economy, industry, 
and a use of the intelligence with which they were endowed 
would have produced like results in their cases. 

Breed never forgot that he was a member of society and 
that it was his duty in life to be interested in the welfare of 
his neighbor. The little kindlinesses which a whole-souled 
man can sprinkle along his path as he goes through life will 
spring up like flowers by the wayside for the enjoyment of 
himself and his fellowmen. 

To be interested in the maintenance of good schools 
throughout the islands, knowing the immeasurable influence 
they have on the coming crop of citizens, was natural to 
Breed. A kind word to the teacher of a remote school or a 
little lecture to the scholars was always appreciated. A little 
spared from his "Religion" account went far towards embel- 
lishing country schools with the adjuncts in the way of maps, 
globes, flags, etc., which make a school attractive. Further 
than these, however, went the knowledge of each child that 



were gathered by the honey bees at times and were responsible for the 
honey dew product as distinguished from honey proper. 

Not that he desired those here interested in bees to become alarmed, 
but Dr. Phillips wanted particularly to draw attention to the fact that 
there was a more or less universal bee disease to be warned of. At 
present, as far as he was able to observe, there was no such disease 
among Hawaiian bees. The bee plague to be on guard against is what 
is known as foul brood, a micro-organic affection most disastrous to the 
culture. It affects the developing bee and is present in nearly all the 
States. The chief avenues of danger are in the importation of queen 
bees and their retinues and in imported honey which may be used in 
assisting local bees. 

Dr. Phillips was of the opinion that Hawaiian honey was sold at too 
low a price. He mentioned that the honey industry, while nothing 
great, meant a matter of some $2,000,000 a year on the mainland. 
Americans, he said, excel in the matter of practical application of 
scientific facts to bee culture. Europeans, especially Germans and the 
French, were away ahead in the science of such, discovering the facts 
taken advantage of by the Americans. 



134 The Master Planter. 



a great man was interested in his or her welfare and was 
always willing to return the salute invariably accorded him by 
every scholar. 

Knowing also of the benefit a community, consisting so 
largely of laborers, could receive from the services of a good 
physician. Breed considered it a very proper way of disposing 
of a part of his "Religion" fund by supplementing the small 
salary of a country doctor. It gave him some influence with 
the Board of Health in recommending appointments as gov- 
ernment physicians. Their work in ameliorating the condi- 
tion of the poor cannot be over-estimated. The natives are 
very am'cnable to treatment, their diet being simple and their 
diseases being naturally of a simple character. It was rarely 
that the islands were visited by any epidemic. The regular 
visit of the physician to each little village was looked forward 
to and the mothers presented their clean children for inspec- 
tion with pride and accepted such advice and remedies as the 
doctor gave them. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

THE BALEFUL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE NATIVE — THE OLLA 
A TEMPERANCE AID. 

ANYONE acquainted with the history of the islands knows 
of the baleful effects of alcohol on the natives, and all 
who have had to do with the red races know of the 
uncontrollable desire they have for any drink which will 
cause intoxication. 

Nature seems so prolific in furnishing so many sources for 
gratifying this desire, that some are free to argue that 
alcohol is one of the gifts of the Creator and made to be en- 
joyed. This may be so, so far as enjoyment goes, but the red 
men, and many whites, having indulged somewhat, are there- 
after incapable of restraint and will debase themselves, com- 
mitting all manner of lewdness and waste their substance to 
the detriment of their families. 

Breed was extremely solicitous that, as far as his influence 
went, he would endeavor to wean his people from intemper- 
ance. For them to merely know that he was set against the 
use of alcohol would cause them to conceal the use of intoxi- 
cants, and the use thereof in a surreptitious manner would be 
greater than the open obtaining of the wherewithal to make 
drunk come. He believed in local option, and that if a com- 
munity wished saloons to be opened that they had the right 
to have them, and vice versa. 

No saloons were permitted on the island, and yet very 
much alcohol in different forms found its way into the camps 
and throughout the island. 

The wom^en in their huis used their influence against it, 
but still the use of it increased. 

In ancient times natives had made intoxicant drinks from 
fermented starches, found in any form, principally bread- 
fruit, ti-root, and sweet potatoes. The white man went a step 
farther and taus^ht them to make alcohol from these fermen- 



136 The Master Planter; or 

tations, and this was a more acceptable and speedy method 
of causing intoxication. 

They used much awa {piper methysticum) , which was 
chewed up and the saliva strained and drank. This was a 
miserable intoxicant, paralyzing the nerves and rendering the 
participant utterly helpless for some hours. It was said to 
be a good remedy for a certain skin disease, but one had to con- 
tinue the use of it for such a time as to note its constitutional 
effects ; and the stages gone through at tim^es caused a most 
repulsive appearance in the awa drinker. 

The white man's example and influence went far towards 
leading the red man in either direction, and it is unfortunate 
that it had largely been used towards their destruction. 

When Breed was established as an apprentice on the plan- 
tation of which he afterwards became consecutively manager 
and owner, he frequently yearned for a drink from that old 
olla which hung on the branch of the live-oak in Grass Val- 
ley. They had brought two of these clay ollas amongst their 
effects when coming to Honolulu, and Mrs. Breed packed one 
of them very carefully and sent it to him. He hung it in the 
lanai of his cottage, and it acquired quite a reputation amongst 
the mechanics at the mill as a well from whence one could 
always obtain a drink of pure, cold water. In fact, it had 
the effect of attracting men in the evening to that part of the 
laborers' quarters, and slowly this grew to be a place where 
men sought each other's company. 

Perhaps they liked to hear our hero expatiate on John 
Brown's actions in the bloody affrays in Kansas, and which 
ultimately led to the war of the rebellion. 

When the news arrived of the assassination of Mr. Lin- 
coln, men cam-e in from several of the surrounding planta- 
tions, and it appeared as if a great grief had stricken each in- 
dividual. 

Having "Kansas" with them, and having heard so much of 
John Brown and his martyrdom, "Kansas" appeared to them 
to be the connecting link between the two great martyrs. 
With his great reading, his unsophisticated ways, and his fine 
command of language, "Kansas" was a natural leader, and 
no one left his little circle without feeling that in his inner- 
most soul he had been benefited by the conversation. 

They often joked with each other, "are you going up to the 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 137 

Kansas club tonight?" and it eventually grew to be the 
proper thing to call on ''Kansas" on Tuesday and Saturday 
evenings. It w^as beneficial to "Kansas" also, as he felt im- 
pelled to keep in advance in his reading in current literature. 
Afterwards, when he became manager, he provided a large 
room, which was well supplied with literature, especially in 
the form of magazines. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

THE TELEPHONE PUBLICLY USED ON MAUI BEFORE IT BECAME 
GENERAL IN THE UNITED STATES. 

WHEN the telephone was introduced, which, by the way, 
was first publicly used on Maui, having sprung across 
the continent from New York and was in popular use 
on this estate before it became general in the United States, 
this room was called the telephone office. The boys said, be- 
cause "they tell funny things there." 

When the amalgamation of the several plantations was ef- 
fected. Breed saw the desirability of having many of these 
offices, as the telephone was a great time-saver and was con- 
ducive to economic management. He either improvised an 
old house or built a cheap one for the telephone office in each 
of the villages of Waikapu, Wailuku, Waihee, Kahului, Paia, 
Hamakuapoko, and Haiku, and in several of the camps. 

Here he established a man at a small salary and encouraged 
him to keep a supply of periodicals and a stock of mineral 
waters, cigars and light refreshments, not forgetting an olla 
with its pure, cold water. Each of these was kept in a cleanly, 
orderly manner, and were places of resort for not only the at- 
taches of the plantation in the vicinity, but were looked upon 
as public reading rooms in their respective neighborhoods. 
The men in charge were not only satisfactorily paid, but often 
made as much more from the profits on temperance drinks, re- 
freshments, etc. These positions were therefore sought after, 
but were given as rewards to faithful sub-lunas, or as pen- 
sions to such as became crippled in the service of the estate. 

The congregating of the men in these clubs, if we will use 
the term, was on the whole beneficial to the management, and 
the manager was enabled to gather much information from 
the observation of the men in the fields. It frequently hap- 
pened that the first information of the ravages of any pest, or 
the lack of any essential in the soil of a locality, or the dis- 
covery of a variety of cane, was first obtained at these places. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 139 

Maui was not an ideal heaven, and crimes were committed 
there as in other places, but the detection of the perpetrators 
through the net-work of these telephone offices was much 
facilitated. It was frequently remarked that East Maui was 
the easiest policed of any part of the islands, which was largely 
due to the temperate habits of the inhabitants. "Kansas," or 
Breed, attributed this state of affairs to the old olla, whose 
predecessor hung in the evergreen live-oak at Grass Valley. 

Breed came to the conclusion that the best way to promote 
temperance was to educate the children and people in such 
manner that the habit of using intoxicants would not be ac- 
quired. He believed in police restriction, preventing the es- 
tablishment of saloons, and that they should only be opened 
where the community allowed them to be. 

He saw the futility of attempting the prevention of the 
manufacture of intoxicants, and recognized that nature had 
so bountifully supplied the material. Also he admitted that 
temperate use of wine or beer was the opposite of prejudicial 
to the health and longevity of the human race. 

It is unfortunate that the vast amount of nutritious food 
contained in grapes and cereals should be destroyed through 
converting the same into alcohol, which itself is so destruc- 
tive in its effects on the morals and health of mankind. "The 
wine of Hymettus was scraped from the bottles" is the record 
of Homier. Champagne and other wines require no scraping 
from the bottles. The wine of the ancients was therefore 
food of the highest quality, and the making of such was 
merely the preserving of the excess of one season's crop of 
fruits against the off season, or for portability in transporta- 
tion. 

In converting this food into our modern wines, fortified 
with alcohol, have we improved on the system? 

Chemists assure us that the juice of the grape more nearly 
approaches the constituency of human blood than any known 
natural product. It would appear from the facility with 
which the grape grows in everv terrestrial zone, that it is 
marvelously adapted for food. The grape cure, i. e., the liv- 
ing on grapes alone for a definite period, has the effect of 
changing the constitution of the individual, producing a clean 
skin and improving the digestion. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

THE PRIMAL CURSE APPLIED TO CANE CULTURE — MANUFACTURING 
AND MARKETING THE SUGAR. 

BREED realized the necessity for economy in every branch 
of the business of sugar culture. The great waste he 
had witnessed on Oahu, at Lahaina, Wailuku, and on 
this estate had impressed on him the importance of saving 
his crop and realizing the highest market value for it. Im- 
mediately on becoming owner he had severed connection with 
the Honolulu agents. They were exceedingly suave and 
endeavored to show him the advisability of maintaining an 
agency in Honolulu for the convenience of purchasing sup- 
plies and as a forwarding factor. He would have none of it, 
and proposed to ship his crop direct to the coast, and, if pos- 
sible, sell it direct to the consumer. He made only two 
classes of sugar, No. 1 and No. 2, and molasses. 

He did put up an extra quality of No. 1, made by washing 
the sugar while in the centrifugal, and which was a very sim- 
ple process. This washed sugar, being sweeter than refined 
sugar, readily found a market west of the Rockies. He made 
arrangements with a firm in San Francisco which had an ex- 
ceedingly extensive connection throughout the States of Cal- 
ifornia, Oregon and the Territories of Washington, Idaho, 
Montana, and Arizona, who agreed to make a specialty of 
putting his sugar into every retail store throughout those 
regions. His kegs were to be found in every mining camp 
west of the Rockies, and his No. 2 sugar was used in all the 
fruit canneries. 

His molasses, not having been robbed of all saccharine mat- 
ter, was in extensive demand. Much of the molasses, how- 
ever, was used on the estate. Cattle and horses were very 
fond of it, and combined with ordinary cane tops it made 
a very fattening and strengthening food. It was remarked 
that his cattle, when turned out after a season's work, were 
in better condition than when first brought in. He found 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hatvaii. 141 

that they became exceedingly fond of the diluted molasses 
when it arrived at a state of fermentation and would "get 
drunk as lords." It was necessary, therefore, to keep all the 
feeding troughs frequently cleansed with pure water. 

Molasses was also extensively used in mixing cement, of 
which great quantities was required in making cement walks, 
which repaid the outlay as conservators of water. In a dry 
region it is very essential to catch the frequent showers, and 
many cisterns were built for this purpose, to which these 
cement walks led. 

As Breed's output reached the 100,000-ton per annum mark, 
he was considered one of the factors in the world's sugar sup- 
ply, and he was continually besought, both by correspond- 
ence and personal visits of capitalists, to combine with them 
in erecting refineries and controlling the sugar market, so as 
to be enabled to milk the market ad libitum. This was con- 
trary to his principles, but they had so much influence with 
Congress and succeeded in either threatening the repeal of 
the reciprocity treaty or in putting up the tariff on foreign 
sugar or in lowering it that he was finally compelled to co- 
operate with them. This eventually required a change in the 
manufacture of sugar, in that it was necessary to convert the 
whole output into as portable a shape as possible. Thus wooden 
containers were dispensed with and the whole tarry mass was 
sacked in jute bags and shipped. 

The changes which had occurred in the manufacture of 
sugar from the time when he first witnessed the cultivation 
on Oahu were something enormous. Lands which had pro- 
duced a satisfactory crop of two and one-half tons per acre 
were made to yield six and eight tons. When boiling in open 
train, as he first found the procedure, it was good boiling to 
obtain 66 per cent, in weight to the weight of juice. By the 
latest appliances in cultivation and machinery for extraction 
and boiling in vacuo as much as 90 per cent, and more was 
obtained. Not only was a great saving made in this direction, 
but the matter of fuel and other expenses was largely reduced. 
Formerly wet trash from the rollers was spread over a large 
surface on the mill grounds for sun-drying at considerable 
expense, and which was afterwards stored in immense trash 
houses to shelter it from the rains. Now it went direct to the 
furnaces after coming through triple sets of rollers, and being 



142 The Master Planter; or 

merely damp enough to burn better than chemically dry trash 
would burn. Thus an immense quantity of wood was saved, 
and the forests to that extent spared. 

Thus the enlarged crop was produced at a minimum of 
cost and was marketed at the maximum prices. 

By using judgment in cultivating only such soil as was 
suitable, by allowing it to lie fallow at regular intervals, by 
cultivating it with steam machinery, by correcting it, by 
manuring it, and by selecting good seed from distant lands or 
other islands, by fertilizing the sprouted cane, by destroying 
the pests which battened on it, by economy in transporting to 
the m'ills, by obtaining the largest possible percentage of 
crystallized matter from the juice, and by shipping direct and 
obtaining the highest prices for his output, our hero was be- 
ginning to realize his dream of what should be the best mode 
of sugar culture. 

Still he was neither quite satisfied with the latest inven- 
tions in sugar making nor with the manner in which the cul- 
tivation was done, and indulged in dreams of what electricity 
might do for the soil and also what it might effect in boiling 
or inspissating the juice. Truly, he was now supported by a 
cabinet of thoughtful, discerning men, whom he had selected, 
and who were all interested in the work, and from whose 
discoveries and inventions many useful methods and appli- 
ances were adopted. One, for instance, invented and patented 
a mold-board plow, another a trenching plow, and still an- 
other invented a cane-leaf stripper, which made play of what 
had been the most repugnant part of cane cultivation. This 
latter was a wire with a peculiar twist, which, being inserted 
and drawn downwards, cleaned the stalk at one dash without 
injury to the hands. 

The primal curse, "thou shalt earn thy bread by the sweat 
of thy brow," seem'cd to follow cane culture, for as the ex- 
tension of the fields progressed so the number of parasites or 
pests which preyed on the cane multiplied. Whether they 
were introduced or originated spontaneously, as weevils do in 
a clean warehouse, was a question. 

The planters of the islands formed an association at whose 
frequent meetings these and everything else pertaining to 
sugar culture were freely discussed, each gaining something 
from the observations of others. An entomologist was em- 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 143 



ployed and the pests studied scientifically. Enemies of the 
pests were introduced, some of which, unfortunately, proved 
enemies to other industries, and some of the parasitic insects 
were destroyed. Encouragement was given to inventors of 
labor-saving machines, and amongst other inventions they 
produced was a cane-loader, which saved much time and ex- 
pense. On lands where it was impossible to make roads the 
trolley carrier, so much used in the mining regions of Cali- 
fornia and Nevada, was introduced, and immense bundles 
were thus transported across ravines and impassable tracts 
to the railroad or mills direct. This brought in lands which 
had heretofore been considered valueless. By the aid of 
buoys and immense cranes sugar was shipped from what was 
deemed an inaccessible coast, and the out-put of the islands 
was increased enormously. The amount invested in the in- 
dustry was appalling. It was at this stage when the labor 
question made itself felt, and it will be necessary to add a 
few political chapters to elucidate the measures taken to 
overcome the difficulty, and which, while not successful, were 
the means of subverting the Hawaiian monarchy. 



CHAPTER XXXV 



NATIVE LABOR BECOMING SCARCE, EXPERIMENTS WITH MANY 
PEOPLES WERE MADE — A POLITICAL REVIEW. 

WHEN the native labor was becoming so scarce as to be 
perceptible, som^e Chinese were introduced, who made 
admirable agricultural laborers. The King had en- 
larged ideas of increasing the people, and sought to intro- 
duce some of a cognate race. The attempt to bring East 
Indians failed, and attention was turned to the South Seas. 
Some of these were induced to migrate, but they proved a 
very inferior stock to the Hawaiians, and very inferior labor- 
ers. Portuguese from the Azores were brought in and 
answered the purpose of laborers well, but the cost per capita 
was too large to warrant bringing more. A colony from 
Norway was brought, but they had not been carefully selected 
from the rural districts, and it proved a failure. 

Some Germans were landed and were made to feel as much 
at home as possible by the establishing of German schools 
and churches, but they found that labor in the canefields of 
the tropics was not suitable for them. They could do most 
of the work, barring stripping cane and irrigating. The 
former destroyed the hands, and the efifect of puddling round 
in water destroyed the feet, of the heads of families, and 
slowly they obtained better positions or left the islands for 
the mainland, or returned whence they came. 

A treaty with Japan was made and some laborers brought 
from there. These answered admirably as workers, but to 
their introduction has been ascribed the downfall of the 
monarchy. 

The British government had placed a taboo on the departure 
of any Chinese from the port of Hongkong, or from any Chi- 
nese port within two hundred miles thereof in British bot- 
toms under contract — and Chinese laborers were thus unob- 
tainable. This was exceedingly unfortunate, as this people 
were content to work for low wages and had no political 
aspirations. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 145 



The King had obtained a treaty of reciprocity with the 
United States which gave great encouragement to the sugar 
industry, but which naturally destroyed the commerce be- 
tween the islands and Europe. This treaty was afterwards 
emasculated by the admission of sugar from all parts of the 
world free with a two-cent bounty on home sugar, McKin- 
ley tariff. The King visited the States in order to see if the 
reciprocal nature of the treaty could not be made good either 
by a bounty or otherwise. 

While in vSan Francisco the King died, and his sister took 
the oath and became Queen. Although the King was not a 
model man, as princes ordinarily are not, still at heart he 
wished the welfare of his country and had advanced views 
towards that end. He was frequently led astray by following 
the advice of adventurers, but when cornered he tried to 
make amends. 

His sister ''^ was of quite a dififerent stamp, and, forgetting 
what century she reigned in, began with her ascension of the 
throne to dabble in politics, and sought to introduce measures 
such as licensing lotteries and opium selling, which the bet- 
ter element knew to be subversive of good morals. Having 
threatened to abrogate the constitution, which she had taken 
an oath to support, and to promulgate a new constitution, a 
radical element in the city of Honolulu sent word to her that 
she was removed from the throne, and established a Pro- 
visional Government. 

Immediately a Corn-mission was sent on to Washington 
tendering the annexation of Hawaii to the United States. 
The naval officers of the great powers of England, France 
and America had long understood the value of Hawaii as a 
strategic point in the mid-Pacific, and had urged their gov- 
ernments to secure the possession of the group. England 
and France had signed a treaty that neither of them would 

* Any political bitterness which may have been felt toward Queen 
Lilinokalani vanished when she made her declaration of loyalty to the 
United States in the jubilee number of the Advertiser, July 2, 1906. 
Since then her old foes have been first to wish her well, and they will 
not withhold their congratulations on this her seventieth birthday. Her 
Majesty is an influence for peace between the races living in Hawaii 
and for good Americanism. When she rides through the streets of her 
former capital today, she will not lack for respectful greetings. — Pacific 
Commercial Advertiser, Sept. 2, 1908. 



146 The Master Planter; or 

attempt to acquire the Islands, and America had given her 
assent to the treaty, but refrained from signing. 

When the tender of annexation was made, the President 
signed a treaty of annexation, but it required the approval of 
the Senate. Before that could be obtained a new President 
was inaugurated, and he withdrew the treaty from the Senate 
and sent a Commissioner to Hawaii to learn on the spot the 
means by which the Queen was removed. Having satisfied 
himself that it was done by the assistance of the U. S. Min- 
ister and U. S. troops, he demanded that the Queen be re- 
stored, on condition that the principal citizens who took part 
in the revolution should be pardoned. To this the Queen re- 
fused to give her assent, and the Provisional Government 
continued. 

A year and one-half after the formation of the Provisional 
Government, a Constitutional Convention was convened and 
a Republic was formed. Many thought this would continue 
indefinitely, but some of those largely interested in sugar con- 
tinually urged the necessity of annexation of the Republic 
to the United States, giving as a reason that Japan, which had 
so many subjects residing in Hawaii, might forcibly take the 
country. On renewing the tender of annexation, the U. S. 
Government consented, and Hawaii became a part of the 
Union. 

While the Republic was in existence permission was granted 
to Chinese to emigrate to Hawaii, if not under contract, by 
the British government. Under this permission over seven 
thousand laborers were introduced. This relieved the situa- 
tion and the sugar industry again flourished. It is understood 
that in the tropics labor must be renewed every three or four 
years, the Chinese especially feeling that three years demands 
of them a rest. 

Annexation knocked out the contract system in toto, and 
also excluded Chinese labor, and prices for labor soared up- 
wards. Beet sugar was being manufactured in such quanti- 
ties in Europe and some parts of the States that the price 
came down very materially, and Hawaii was "up against it," 
in vulgar parlance. Japanese, having found the road to Ha- 
waii, kept coming in such numbers that it was possible to ob- 
tain the complement of laborers necessary, but at an ad- 
vanced rate. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 147 

It is in place here to tell somewhat to what extent the 
Islands are indebted to Chinese for the development of the 
resources of the country, and to speak of the unreasonable- 
ness of the U. S. laws in excluding them from a part of the 
world which needs their services, if on no other grounds. 
These laws have often been declared by wise and broad- 
minded men iniquitous and un-American and a blemish on the 
statute books of the great republic. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

THE CHINESE AND THEIR RELATION TO HAWAII — VICES AND 
VIRTUES OF THIS PEOPLE. 

EARLY in the nineteenth century Chinese began to arrive 
at the Hawaiian Islands. Kamehameha, the Great, 
opened a trade with China, sending cargoes of sandal- 
wood to Canton for sale. It is thought that on some of these 
returning vessels a few came. Gradually the numbers in- 
creased until the sugar industry began to be prosecuted in 
earnest, when they came in large numbers, assisted by the 
planters. 

They are quick at acquiring the native language, and many 
of themi married native women. They made good husbands 
and fathers. Invariably they sent their children to China to 
live with the old folks and be educated in the language of the 
fathers. It is frequently remarked that the Chinese on the 
Islands are a superior class to those who have gone to Cali- 
fornia. This is not so, but, by reason of acquiring the native 
language, which was a medium of conversation with the 
whites, the distance between master and servant was over- 
come and we were enabled to discern their lines of thought. 

They are exceedingly bright and have some admirable 
qualities, such as indomitable perseverance and industry and 
love of home. They are peculiarly a commercial people, al- 
though the masses are agriculturists. As merchants they 
understand thoroughly the benefit of combining their capital 
and also of maintaining their reputation for square dealing. 

After the natives, they are preeminently the most depend- 
able labor which has been introduced into the Islands. Once 
given to understand what is wanted of them, and they could 
be depended on to do it without threat or spur. A few of 
them were admitted to citizenship under the monarchy, prin- 
cipally for the reason that they were desirous of marrying 
'native women, the old law prohibiting the marriage of a na- 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 149 

tive to a foreigner who was not a citizen. Many of them be- 
came Christians and reared their famihes in that faith, 

A residence on the Islands improves them very much, and 
on returning to their own land, where the government is so 
far behind that of the Occident, they continually urge reform 
measvires. 

The great love of this people for education, and their ap- 
preciation of good government, make them model denizens 
of the country. 

The misdemeanors of gambling and opium smoking cover 
most of the sins of the Chinaman. The latter is abhorred by 
the majority, and its evil consequences are harped upon by 
their principal speakers and writers. Their love for children 
and the self-denial which they practice to send money to the 
old folks to maintain them and educate the children could be 
emulated by white men with advantage. 

When annexation was being sought the Chinese, although 
constituting one-third of the population, took no part in the 
discussion, trusting in the leadership of the foreigner, whose 
wisdom they had learned to appreciate. They little dreamt 
of the baleful effect annexation would have on their trade, 
commerce and opportunities. 

The Chinese have been of so much benefit to the Islands 
in so many ways that they are thoroughly appreciated. In 
every little valley a Chinese store may be found, which is 
a great convenience to the neighborhood, and at the same 
time the trade is insufficient to warrant a white man in open- 
ing such markets. In a thousand instances they have leased 
land which was apparently valueless and by their industry 
succeeded in reclaiming it and making it tax and rent pro- 
ducing property. 

They control the rice industry of the Islands, but the 
coming of the exclusion laws bids fair to extinguish that re- 
source, for the reason that further laborers are unobtainable, 
and, as in other fields, the rice cultivator must have a rest. 
They can not understand why they should be prohibited from 
coming and going as of yore, especially when the necessity 
of their labor in this tropical country is so apparent for the 
sugar and rice industries. 

As a matter of fact, they were not taken into consideration 
by those political leaders who pushed for annexation, and the 
exclusion laws will not only exclude but will ultimately re- 



150 The Master Planter. , 

duce the Chinese population to a mere handful, there being 
so many of them dependent one on another. When told that 
the United States was too great a country to be suspected of 
intentionally annexing or marrying Hawaii with the ultimate 
result of destroying any particular industry, the Chinaman 
remarks that he fails to see the difference between the inten- 
tional or accidental when the result is the same. 

The immigration law'S of the United States may be exactly 
what is wanted in that country, but when the great republic 
spreads its wings and covers part of the tropics, it reaches a 
region where a class of labor is necessary which can not be 
supplied from the north. 

There is no fear that there will ever be an exodus of Chi- 
nese from their own country in sufhcient numbers to in- 
terfere with either the political or commercial prosperity of 
that great country. As America is looking towards China 
for a market for her manufactures and products, it would be 
advisable for her to be liberal with the Chinese to secure their 
confidence, and not to exclude the few celestials who may 
wish to visit the United States for a longer or shorter period. 
It is only with the intention of returning to Cathay that a 
Chinaman ever leaves his own country, and they will thus 
never interfere with the politics of America. In the mean- 
time their labor is much needed in developing the resources 
of the country. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

A RESUME OF THE HISTORY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS — FROM 
THE RISE TO THE FALL OF THE MONARCHY. 

IT IS necessary to give a short resume of the history of the 
Islands. The Hawaiian, or Sandwich, Islands were dis- 
covered by Captain Cook, the great English circumnavi- 
gator, in 1778. He met his death on the Island of Hawaii at 
the hands of the natives, while he was endeavoring to coerce 
the King to go on board of his ship. Cook had appeared to 
the natives as a god, and was called by them Lono, the god 
whom prophecy had stated would again come to the Islands. 
He had learned the language of the New Zealanders, which 
is very similar to that of Hawaii, and also to that of Tahiti, 
where he had rendezvoused for a period. Consequently he 
was able to talk to the people, which probably added to their 
idea that he was the returning Lono. He knew that he was 
worshiped by them and permitted it for ulterior purposes. 

The hospitality lavished upon him was exceedingly onerous 
on the common people, who had to bear the whole brunt of 
carrying pigs, taro, and all kinds of food from very long dis- 
tances to the part of the Islands where the ships were an- 
chored. A boat from one of the ships had been stolen, for the 
sake of the nails in its composition, and Cook was anxious to 
get hold of the King as a hostage to secure the return of the 
boat. He had tried this schem-e at some of the South Sea 
Islands and found it worked well. The Hawaiians were alert 
and scented danger, and advised the King against going on 
board. 

When Cook attempted to use force, he was bustled by the 
natives, and one of them hit him with a stone. At this he 
groaned, and the illusion that he was a god was dispelled. 
He was quickly killed, but his body was recovered and taken 
to England. The statement that his body was eaten by the 
cannibals of the Sandwich Islands is as untrue as it is true 



152 The Master Planter; or 

that from Cook's visit came the seeds of death which have 
at this day reduced the nation to a tithe of what it was. 

Cook's first officer estimated the population at 500,000, and 
this statement is probably a fair estimate. It is not only so 
from a census taken at a later date, but from signs of culti- 
vation on now unused lands that we are led to beli-eve such 
an estimate was approximately correct. 

Internecine wars, pestilence, disease, rum and its concomi- 
tant evil effects, together with the change from nudity and 
the enhanced toughness of cuticle engendered thereby to 
the adoption of clothing and its debilitating effects, have 
united to cause this serious decimation of the population. 

Comm'erce has always followed closely after new discov- 
eries, and during Kamehameha's reign a trade sprang up with 
China, which brought to Hawaii, in exchange for its sandal-wood, 
some of the manufactures of that country. Furniture, silks, 
clothing, etc., began to be appreciated by the chiefs ; and the 
common people were coerced by them into denuding the 
jnountains of that commodity to supply their wants. Hawaii 
had nothing else to export. During his reign horses, cattle 
jind sheep were introduced, and they have multiplied to the 
vast destruction of the forests which clothed the mountains 
&s with a garment, and undoubtedly to the serious reduction 
of the rainfall. 

By the aid of firearms procured from the traders, Kameha- 
meha was enabled to reduce the whole islands to his sway, 
although he had formerly been frequently beaten in battle. 

Finding his ships were compelled to pay large tonnage 
dues in China, he established a system of such charges and 
also began to levy duties on imports. He maintained a good 
g'overnment, where life and property were safe. He died in 
;1819, and was succeeded by his son Liholiho, who reigned 
until 1824; he died in England when on a visit there. 
.During his reign the American missionaries arrived and the 
.tabus were broken, the worst of which was the interdict 
against man and wife eating together. 

Liholiho was succeeded by his brother, Kauikeaouli, who 
as Kamehameha III. reigned from 1825 to 1854. During his 
long reign of twenty-nine years Hawaii advanced very rapidly 
in every way. Old and young were seized with a desire to 
learn to read and thousands became Christians. In 1852 the 
first consignment of Chinese coolies arrived to take the place 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 153 

pf the fast decaying Hawaiians. Smallpox ravaged the islands 
from March to October, 1853, the number of deaths thereby- 
being unobtainable. The first regular census was taken in 
that year, December 30. 

This good king (Kamehameha III.) died December 15, 
1854, and was succeeded by his nephew, Alexander Liholiho. 
He reigned but nine years, and died at the age of twenty- 
nine. 

The postoffice was established in 1859, and many public 
improvements were begun during his reign. Alexander Liho- 
liho was succeeded by his brother. Lot, who reigned as Ka- 
.mehameha V. to 1872. He was a very firm man and made 
a good sovereign. 

King Lot did not appoint a successor, and the people 
elected his cousin, Lunalilo, who refused to be called a Ka- 
mehameha, feeling that he should have been appointed by 
his uncle, Kamehameha HI. He probably would have been 
appointed but for his having acquired habits of intemperance. 
He reigned but one year, during which time he had a good 
cabinet and the country was prosperous. 

Lunalilo refused to appoint a successor, and Kalakaua was 
elected. The people were defrauded of their choice, which 
was Queen Emma, relict of Kamehameha IV., by open and 
notorious bribery. On the announcement of the result of the 
special legislature, the mob assaulted the governmient build- 
ing and gutted it. Some of the electors were killed and 
others injured * and troops were landed from foreign vessels 
to preserve order. He was in no manner connected with the 
Kamehameha dynasty, but belonged to a family of chiefsf 
who had been subdued by the conquerer. He reigned eighteen 
years, during which time the country prospered and the 
;sugar industry rapidly rose to first place. His motto was 
"hooulu lahui," increase the nation, and efforts were made in 
many directions to secure immigration, with only partial suc- 
cess. He was urbane, sociable, a pleasant after-dinner 
speaker, and caoable of conversing intelligently on almost 
any subject. While encouraging instruction and not object- 
ing to religious toleration, Kalakaua encouraged the ancient 

* One died afterwards from the injuries lie had received. 

t David Kalakana was descended from Kameeiamoku and Keawea- 
heulu, aliis and counselors of Kamehameha I. 



154 The Master Planter, 



practices of superstitious origin, such as kahunaism and the 
bestial hula. He visited Washington in 1874, and was the 
pieans of securing the reciprocity treaty with America. He 
traveled around the world in 1881 making the journey in nine 
months, and was royally received everywhere, although the 
intention had been to travel incognito. During his com^- 
paratively long reign many of the public improvements which 
meet the eye on the islands were inaugurated, such as the 
telephone system, steam fire engines, the palace, marine rail- 
way. Surveyor General's building, Police Station. Postal 
Savings Bank, and a new currency of the same weight and 
fineness as the U. S. silver standard. It would be impossible 
to please all the different factions, and his reign will always 
be remembered by the solid improvements effected, and forms 
a distinct epoch in Hawaiian history. Often he was led to 
do what he afterwards admitted to have been unwise, and 
when confronted with an aggrieved public he was willing to 
make admission of his errors and correct them. 

David Kalakaua died in California in 1892, and was followed on 
the throne by his sister. Queen Liliuokalani, who lacked the tact 
of her brother, and quickly brought about her downfall and termi- 
nated Hawaiian monarchv. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

OUR HERO IN REVIEW AGAIN — EXPERIMENTS WITH ELECTRICITY — 
MENTION OF NOBLE MEN AND WOMEN OF HAWAII. 

DURING the years of his management prices for sugar 
had steadily gone down on account of the great increase 
of the cultivation of the beet in Germany, France and 
the several States of the Union, and Breed was forced to 
study the situation with much solicitude. 

In scanning the field, he saw that the land was producing 
much more than he had anticipated, that the crop was being 
harvested at a minimum of what the previous cost for culti- 
vation and transportation had been, that the results in the 
mill were almost up to what he judged should be a proper 
percentage of crystallized matter to the weight of the ex- 
tracted juice, and he saw that with the exception of obtain- 
ing the full price for his product there were but two ways in 
which the situation could be improved. 

In his experiments with electricit3% tried in a small way, 
he saw that it could be utilized in cultivation with the double 
advantage of destroying pests and of aiding the rootlets of 
the cane to form those minute bulbs through which the life 
of it was secured. Also, the value of electricity in the mill, 
not in lighting and in running small machinery only, but as 
an aid in the crystallizing of the sugar, both in time and in 
quantity, was impressed on him. He knew he had great re- 
sources of power for making electricity in the many ravines 
through which the immense aqueduct passed, and, although 
the loss in conducting the electricity to the fields and mill 
from a distance would be considerable, he felt in the future 
he Avould endeavor to make use of this power which nature 
had placed in his hands. 

The other exception was in the excessive price he was 
paying for labor. Knowing so much of the history of China 
and the Far East, and of the myriads of people there who 
were barely existing, and of the gladness thousands of them 



156 The Master Planter; or 



would feel at having an opportunity to better their condi- 
tion, he felt that it would be only right for him to make a 
strenuous endeavor to assist many of them to come to Ha- 
waii for his own interests and as a humianitarian measure. 

He had always followed the principle of employing white 
men wherever available, and confined the Asiatics to field 
work. He had practical experience in the field, and, although 
there were times when he felt that he could stand such work, 
he knew now that the actinic rays of the sun in the tropics 
had such an effect on one of northern birth and maturation 
that no acclimation would prevent the blood from becoming 
thin and unable to stand field work. He looked over his 
colony of Chinese and compared their situation to what it 
had been accustomed to in its native land. Large families 
of children surrounded every home, enjoying good health 
and opportunities for education. Largely they had cast aside 
the peculiarities which had distinguished them from others ; 
and without queues or peculiarities of dress, with their neat 
homes embellished with foreign furniture, sewing machines, 
pictures, etc., they were assuredly becoming Christian in be- 
lief, as the increasing church membership showed. 

It would take a generation to remove many of the supersti- 
tions which they had inherited. They had their clubs and 
debating societies, which they conducted as well and orderly 
as the best society in any part of the L'nited States, and con- 
tinually sought to increase their knowledge of the world. 
Hundreds of them were subscribers for American periodicals, 
and the parents compelled the children to read and translate 
them. It is unnecessary to state that many of them had good 
bank accounts, and were owners in the stock of the estate 
on which they were living. 

No one knew better than Breed of the unreasonable and 
unnatural objection of the labor element in some parts of the 
States to the Chinese, and also of its far-reaching eflfect on 
Congress. While knowing this, and of the futility of at- 
tempting to educate the masses in those parts, he felt that 
the circumstances were so diflFerent away oflF in the tropics 
that the obiections made to Chinese on the mainland would 
not be applicable. It was contended by the most radical of 
the leaders of the opposition to Chinese, that the sugar of 
the Islands was the product of Chinese labor, and therefore 
the consumption of it in the States was an encouragement to 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 157 



the detested Chinaman. The pueriHty of such an objection, 
and a more "dog-in-the-manger" attitude, could not be as- 
summed. To those acquainted with the innumerable attempts 
to secure white labor in raising cane and the utter futility 
of such attempts, the manufacture of sugar in the tropics 
without the aid of people of other races seemed 
impossible. The former objection made to such sugar 
as being the product of "contract labor" had been done away 
with on the absorption of Hawaii into the Union. 

When Breed had organized this immense estate, a number 
of his friends had taken shares in the stock, which had yielded 
them large returns on their investment, amongst whom was 
the Commissioner whose acquaintance he had made under 
such peculiar circumstances. They had kept up their friend- 
ship through correspondence, and when this climax, of dearth 
of labor, was reached, the Commissioner advised himi to come 
to Washington and he would be given an opportunity to ex- 
plain his views before committees of Congress, and he de- 
cided to do so. In his methodical manner he collected all 
possible useful statistics, the archives of the government and 
of the Planters' Association affording ample supplies. To 
these he added views of scenery pertaining to the sugar in- 
dustry in all its stages, and also interesting slides of promi- 
nent personages, trees, plants, etc., by means of which he 
was enabled to explain the situation. 

No story smacking of Hawaiian history could be written 
without some mention being made of some of the noble men 
and women of the Islands. Preeminently among the chiefs 
stands out the nam'e of Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a daugh- 
ter of the high chiefs Paki and Konia, and a direct descend- 
ant of Kamehameha I. She inherited almost one-third of the 
lands of the group. She married a banker, the Honorable 
Charles R. Bishop, and at her decease left all of her property 
to a trust, the proceeds and usufruct of it to be used for the 
education of girls and boys of her race. In this she was nobly 
aided by her husband, who has contributed from his own 
estate enormous funds to carry out her expressed desires. 
Having no children of their own, they can properly be de- 
nominated the parents of the race. 

Another high chiefess most worthy of note was Queen 
Emma, relict of Kamehameha IV. She was a daughter of 
Kekela and a ereat-g-randdaughter of Kamehameha I. The 



158 The Master Planter, 



Queen's Hospital in Honolulu will keep her name alive for 
generations to come. From her exalted birth, education and 
virtues, she will always be ranked with Pauahi. She was a 
friend of Breed, and told him of her travels in Europe and 
America. In describing her reception by Her Majesty Queen 
Victoria, and of Her Majesty taking her by both hands and 
leading her to a sofa, where they sat, he could realize two 
Queens of the earth sitting together, one the Em^press of the 
world and the other the Queen of the smallest kingdom — two 
ladies with great thoughts for the betterment of their respec- 
tive subjects. 

We have told of the destruction of so large a number of 
chiefs at the time of the Hawaiian Armada on Maui, which 
no doubt militated against the eventual progress of the 
Islands. There were many, however, who lived in the day 
of the white man who were nature's noblemen, and whose 
genius and character were respected by the foreigner. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

THE SILVER WEDDING OF THE BREEDS WAS CELEBRATED BY A 
LUAU AND HOOKUPU OF GRAND PROPORTIONS. 

BREED'S friend, the preacher of Wailuku, had a golden 
wedding, the intention of the family being to have a 
function of a private nature, but at the same time to 
send cards to all their acquaintances as mementos of the oc- 
casion. The whole community would gladly have gotten 
up a most elaborate reception, as the aged missionary and 
his wife were dearly beloved by all the natives and foreigners 
who had m^et them. He was a man whom to know was to 
love, largely on account of his own loving, sympathetic nature. 
It satisfied the old couple to have their whole family around 
them and to make it an occasion when, probably for the last 
time on earth, they could consecrate themselves to follow in 
His footsteps. 

It having developed that the twenty-fifth anniversary of 
Breed's wedding was approaching, the managers of the sev- 
eral plantations comprising the estate got together and made 
arrangements to give this respected couple a send-ofif the like 
of which had never been known on the Islands. The natives 
take great enojyment in a luau, and do not let the labor or 
expense in getting up the preparations thwart their inten- 
tions, when occasion offers. There were quite a number of 
sub-lunas on the different plantations who were natives or 
half-whites. The foreign overseers decided to leave to them 
the preparations for the luau, while they furnished the money 
to purchase bullocks, hogs, turkeys, chickens, fish, etc. 

It was arranged that there should be a hookupu — i. e., a 
presentation by each guest of some gift as he or she thought 
fit or had the means to do. The natives, being lovers of gym- 
nastic sports, it was deemed advisable to make a holiday of 
the occasion and to initiate horse and foot races, together 
with an exhibition of the gam^es they delighted in, as boxing, 
wrestling, vaulting, ball-playing and other sports. 



160 The Master Planter; or 

The 3rd of July, the date of the silver wedding, coming on 
Monday that year, the hands were all given a whole holiday 
on the preceding Saturday, instead of the usual half-holiday 
instituted by Breed. This gave four holidays in succession, 
as it had been the custom from time immemorial on the 
Islands to celebrate the Fourth of July — at least from the ad- 
vent of Americans. By means of the thorough organization 
established on each of the plantations and of the whole es- 
tate, it was possible to unite every man, woman and child in 
any undertaking which was popular, and the various com- 
mittees to whom were assigned different parts of this fiesta 
did their work well, as the day proved. By means of the 
telephone, rumors were circulated to the most distant valleys 
of the island that every inhabitant was invited and welcome, 
without money and without price, to three days' enjoyment— 
and they came. 

Natives never go to a feast without having on "a wedding 
garment." This means that the women in each village, or 
hui in a village, shall procure dresses that will be uniform 
in color, and the men likewise dearly love to wear white 
pants and red shirt or black pants and white shirt, according 
as is decided in their meeting. Naturally all this required 
much preparation, but each felt repaid by the effect pro- 
duced. 

It seems difficult to formulate a description of this great 
entertainment from the uncertainty of what to begin at, as 
they say of a "round robin." Probably if we commence at 
the family to which center all converged it would be more apt 
to catch the majority of the persons and events taking part. 

On Monday morning at ten o'clock, then, we find Mr. and 
Mrs. Breed surrounded by all their children and two grand- 
children in the center of an immense lanai constructed on 
the lawn in front of the plantation house. The old preacher 
from Wailuku performs the ceremony of reuniting this happy 
couple, and offers a prayer that their future may be as much 
blessed as their past, both to themselves and to those whose 
lives have been benefited by coming in contact with them. 

Then occurred the most remarkable event or incident of the 
occasion, and one that is peculiarly Hawaiian. Every man, 
woman and child had brought something as a present, and 
lines had been formed of this immense throng which pro- 



Li[c in the Cane Fields of Haivaii. 161 

ceeded toward Mr. Breed, when each of them deposited his 
makana or gift. 

One of Kamaka's fathers, who was an adept at making the 
feather kahilis, cloaks, and helmets used by the ancient chiefs, 
had made a mahiele or helmet which he presented to Breed. 
One in authority had sent from Honolulu a feather cloak. 
Breed was requested to don the helmet and cloak and thus 
as an ancient chief he stood to receive the people. Now came 
each village or society or individual in person in a long pro- 
cession, and as each man, woman or child deposited his 
present, which was taken charge of by one of the lieutenants, 
Mr. Breed shook hands with him or her, until all passed by. 

The gifts consisted of every imaginable article of Hawaiian 
growth or manufacture, and much from foreign lands. One 
old woman brings a net of hens' eggs, another a net of 
onions, still another a hand of bananas, a roll of kapa, a 
fish-net, a roll of dried lauhala leaves, several cocoanuts held 
together by a strip of the husk, eight men carrying a canoe 
with its paddles, a fine Niihau mat, a yellow feather neck- 
lace, a necklace of polished kukui nuts, an elaborate piece of 
lace work made from^ threaded koa seeds, an ancient spear, 
a pair of maika stones, a pair of stone pestles and a koa 
board for pounding poi, a baby's crib made from a great 
variety of Hawaiian woods, a magnificently polished kou 
calabash, a squealing pig, a turkey, a pair of chickens, a 
gourd of shell-fish, a span of beautiful horses from Califor- 
nia, a handsome carriage, silverware innumerable, etc., etc. 
From his Chinese friends came boxes of tea, cigars, silk 
handkerchiefs and other embroidered silken goods, wonder- 
fully carved ivory ornaments, black marble seated furniture. 
Probably as unique as any of the many presents was a 
frame made from fronds of the silversword plant, a present 
from Mary, the old parson of Makawao's daughter, or rather 
from her school. It encircled a verse, "Seest thou a m.an dili- 
gent in his business, he shall stand before kings, he shall not 
stand before mean men." This was highly prized by the 
recipient. 

Ladies from all parts of the Islands who had enjoyed the 
hospitality of the Breed mansion at different times prepared 
and sent in work of their own hands, knowing such would 
be more appreciated than purchased silver articles. 



162 The Master Planter; or 

The feather cloak and helmet have been mentioned, but to 
understand somewhat of the value of these articles one must 
know of the labor consumed in their manufacture. Two 
golden feathers are found beneath each wing of a small bird 
called the oo. These are assiduously collected until a suffi- 
ciency is obtained. The garment is woven of fine olona 
thread, during which process the feathers are woven in and 
the work is done in so remarkable a manner that each feather 
lies in place and as neatly as if carefully preened by the bird 
itself. Such a garment has such a pecuniary value that if 
reckoned as to time only it would be worth thousands of 
dollars. 

Whence the Hawaiians obtained the pattern for the helmet, 
which is exactly similar to that seen in pictures of Alexander 
the Great, it is not possible to surmise. It may be that some 
of the shipwrecked Spanish navigators, shipwrecked accord- 
ing to tradition in the year 1527, and who spent the balance 
of their lives on the Islands, may have instructed them. 

It should be added that each visitor at the luau wore a 
wreath of flowers — maile, lauhala, or kikania fruit — which 
made the effect most pleasing. While the hookupu was 
under way a band of singers and musicians from Lahaina 
discoursecl Hawaiian airs, which added much to the zest of 
the occasion. 

During the hookupu the numerous stewards who had been 
at work from the previous Friday, were preparing the grand 
luau beneath an immense lanai erected for that special pur- 
pose. At two o'clock the drums beat a signal for the feast, 
and the assembled guests gathered into a vast audience to 
enjoy a luau the like of which had not been seen in that 
generation, and probably the last great feast which is likely 
to occur on the Islands. The lanai was one hundred feet 
wide and three hundred feet long, constructed of a wooden 
framework and thatched with woven cane leaves. The 
ground was covered with bulrushes from the swampy lands 
near the sea. There were three spreads in lieu of tables, 
running from end to end, composed of banana leaves. At 
each plate or place was set a bowl of poi, a bundle of fish, an- 
other of fowl, pig, or beef, together with shells of inamona 
and salt. At intervals stood dishes loaded with Hawaiian 
puddings of various kinds, interspersed with cut water- 



Life in tJie Cane Fields of Hazcaii. 163 



melons. Young cocoanuts for drink, as well as mineral 
waters, were supplied to every guest. 

Mr. and Mrs. Breed and their family occupied the head of 
the center spread, and the foreign element lined either side 
of it. The Hawaiian men and women, alternately, occupied 
one spread, while the other was filled with Chinese men and 
women dressed in the gorgeous colors which the Chinese 
ladies love to wear. The various societies amongst the na- 
tives, in their brilliant colors, made, also, a charming picture. 

After all were seated photographs were taken of the beau- 
tiful scene fromi different standpoints. These photographs 
were afterwards framed and presented to Breed as everlast- 
ing mementoes of the occasion, and were freely given to those 
who wanted them to keep as reminders of the Great Silver 
Wedding. The old parson said grace and the feast began, 
the stewards supplying every one with iced drinks and wait- 
ing on all. The musicians played many of Hawaii's sweet 
airs and sang a song prepared for the day, and when all were 
satisfied, the Kamehameha Hymn was given as a finale. 

As the edibles and their preparation have been described 
in previous chapters, it is unnecessary to recapitulate ; on this 
occasion they were gotten up in such vast quantities that there 
was enough and to spare, so that each one who wished was en- 
abled to carry away large bundles of foodstuffs. As to the races 
and games which took place, and the dance in the mill in the 
evening which was kept up into the Fourth of July, it is unneces- 
sar}^ to enlarge upon them. 

Suffice it, young and old had their fill of good things and 
gayety, and each on departing was the recipient from Breed 
of a sum of money as a donation with which he or she could 
procure a memento of this Silver Wedding. These sums of 
money had been placed in envelopes by members of Breed's 
famil}/ and were of all amounts, from $20 down to $1.00, and 
were distributed as addressed. The luau and reunion was a 
testimony to the appreciation which the people had for Breed, 
from foreigners and natives alike. He was a great lover 
of the Hawaiians, their histor}^ manners and customs, and 
being so familiar with their language and traditions was more 
of a Hawaiian than the younger element amongst them. 

The recipients of all this aloha looked back to their advent 
to the country and to some of the impressions they had 
formed, especially their feeling that they had made a grave 



164 The Master Planter. 



mistake in coming to the Islands. Although their lives had 
not been all smooth sailing, they had weathered the stormis 
and arrived safely in port. 

The necessity of acquiring the language, and the language 
itself having been so frequently spoken of, it may be of in- 
terest to add a chapter on it, as philology has been one of 
the means by which the origin of the Hawaiian race has 
been traced or conjectured. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE — ITS LACK OF HARSH CONSONANTS 
MAKES IT EASILY ADAPTABLE TO MUSIC. 

THE language of the people of the Hawaiian Islands is a 
peculiarly soft one, and as written, the vowels have the 
European pronunciation. Its lack of harsh consonants, 
or even sibilants, makes it very adaptable to musical expres- 
sion. Evidently it has a common origin with that of the 
Maoris of New Zealand, the inhabitants of Tahiti and some 
other of the groups in the South Seas, although it differs 
from all of them in certain radical respects. 

It is said that the Maoris boast of having gone there from 
Hawaii, while the traditions of the Hawaiians is that they 
themselves came up from the south. In comparing the 
nomenclature of many matters pertaining to all the Pacific 
islands, we are struck with the uniformity of namies, as water, 
wind, fire, hand, shadow, tree, canoe, and names of parts 
of islands which face the same direction of the compass. One 
would say, why doubt that the Polynesians have a common 
origin? If it were not for the great distances between many 
of these groups and the fact that in ancient times large vessels 
or those capable of traversing a stormy ocean were unknown, 
the migrations of the ancients might be accounted for. 
While the roots of many words in the languages of the va- 
rious groups are the same, the prefixes and affixes differ, 
making the sounds to differentiate. 

As has been stated, many of the traditions and genealogies 
of the Hawaiians were converted to music, and through the 
canticle or chant more freely committed to memory. The 
thoughts of the natives run to poetry, and seldom will they 
engage in conversation without quoting some lines from the 
ancient meles or chants, probably to better express their 
ideas. 

All speaking is accompanied with gesticulations and per- 
haps genuflexions of the body. Often the most innocent 



166 The Master Planter ; or 



commonplace expressions are given a meaning quite the reverse 
of the words by a cast of the eye, or a wink, or innuendo, or 
motion of the hand or body. To say, for instance, that "you 
have been a great traveler about the islands" would prob- 
ably be considered a compliment by us, but it would depend 
on the speaker or the one spoken to and the accompanying 
look or action. It is said that many of the verses composed 
and sung in the church were intentionally put before the 
public for the sake of continuing the double entendre ap- 
plicable to them, and in derision of the teachings of the early 
missionaries. 

To give an example of a comparatively innocent song, 
which was very popular in its day and is known to all the 
Hawaiians, a verse of it is given together with a free trans- 
lation. The mele is very long and without any gesticulations 
or motions is a poem, but amongst the natives the words and 
motions convey extremely suggestive thoughts. Kilauea 
was the name of one of the early steamers running between 
the islands and a very great favorite amongst a people who 
travel as much as they do. 

KILAUEA. 
No Kilauea ke aloha la; 
No ka moknahi o ke kaona la. 
Nana i ka iue o ka moana la, 
Ale ku ehu o Pailolo la. 
Mea ole ke loaa o Hawaii la, 
I ke kue no mea ka huila la. 
E aho ke hoi i ke keena la, 
I olu pono iho kaua la. 
Ko mai lukini onaona la; 
O Kaleionehu he inoa la. 

In memory of Kilauea the beloved; 

The steamship of the city. 

Hers is the track in the ocean, 

In the surging billows of Pailolo. 

The trip to Hawaii is nothing, 

On account of the force of her screw, 

It were better to adjourn to the cabin, 

Where we will be more comfortable. 

Pass the fragrant cologne (gin), 

In memory of Kaleionehu. 

At the time of the coronation of Kalakaua, many meles 
or chants were composed or brought forward from those 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 167 

which had become obsolete, some of which were the com- 
position of the King. To all appearances they were inno- 
cent poetry. On inquiry from some of the older of the na- 
tives their true inwardness was discovered. In fact it would 
not be polite to use the printer's art preservative in attempt- 
ing to give the exceedingly filthy meaning of these songs. 
Suffice it to say that in the old barbaric times Phallic wor- 
ship was the order of the day, and from young to old sensual 
delights were the theme of all conversation, and the Ha- 
waiians will require several generations before they are 
weaned from the love of dwelling on subjects which to us 
are so repugnant. 

Our hero once questioned an old native as to the meaning 
of an oli or chant which he was singing, and the old man said 
it was a description of a beautiful fern-clad precipice so restful 
to the eye of the weary traveler, the protuberances of which 
were covered with m^inute ferns. It would require a stretch 
of imagination to see in this anything that was suggestive, 
but the motions of the eyes, the gesticulations of the limbs, 
and the sinuous contortions of the body spoke volumes. The 
wild, weird music of the Hawaiian songs has a charm, 
whether from a chorus of voices or as frequently heard from 
man or woman in their travels up and down the ravines or 
mountain sides. Tourists visiting the islands are captivated 
with it and seek the services of the good quintette clubs 
so numerous in the capital. They are unaware that many of 
the novel melodies which are sung with an abandon similar 
to the bacchanalian orgies of the age of Nero, are replete with the 
sensual thoughts of the composers. 

The love of the Hawaiian? for music is Droverbial and 
children at the schools readily learn English songs, from 
"rag time" to the most solemn of our hymns. A custom has 
grown up on the Islands similar to the carol singing of Ger- 
many and England, and on the evening preceding any holi- 
day many groups of singers go from door to door in the 
city or country towns singing and playing instruments. They 
have been much encouraged by foreigners, who invariably 
go out and give the leader money or wine or foodstuffs, as 
the case may be. They are very clever in their way, and at 
a German's residence will sing "Die Wacht am Rhein," or at 
an Eng-Hshman's "God Save the Queen," or at an American's 
"The Star Spangled Banner" or "Dixie," as they think will 



168 The Master Planter; or 



be most acceptable, after giving a number of their own pretty 
airs. 

The government band is largely composed of natives, and 
is one of the favored institutions of the country, never failing 
to get an appropriation from each legislature. It has been 
under the leadership of a German sent out by the Emperor 
to the King, for the past thirty years. Having had a military 
training he is a martinet for discipline, and although the natives 
can not tolerate discipline as a rule, his men submit willingly, 
som.e of them having been in the band from his advent. He 
has composed many beautiful airs for which words have been 
supplied by Kalakaua, the late Queen and others of the nobility. 

The band has been carried to San Francisco, where at a 
great conclave of Knights its music was much appreciated. 
Several of the Hawaiian quintette clubs make tours of the 
United States, where their services are in demand at some of 
the large hotels, and their strange music is a novelty. 

A knowledge of the language is quickly acquired by the 
Europeans settled on the Islands, excepting perhaps the Eng- 
lish, many of whom have not that quick ear for discerning 
slight variations in sounds of the vowels. Some rare mistakes 
have been made by them, but the Hawaiians, who are as po- 
lite as the French, refrain from laughing at errors of for- 
eigners. For instance, an English Bishop, who wished to 
show his application in studying the language, proposed to 
read the commandments. "Thou shalt not steal" in native 
is "mai aihue oe," but he said "m^ai ai hua oe," thou shalt 
not eat eggs or fruit" ; and again, "lay up your treasures," 
"e waiho ko oukou waiwai," he said "e waiho ko oukou 
wawae," lay up your feet. The slight distinction made all 
the difference, but in a foreign congregation such readings 
would at least have provoked a smile. 

The native ear is exceedingly sensitive to vowel sounds. 
It is more than probable that the original language of all 
the Polynesians had the vowels separated by consonants, 
much more so than that of the present, they having been 
dropped for euphony. Ae, ai, ao, ea, ee, ei, ia, ie, io, for in- 
stance, are in some of the dialects, ake, aki, ako, eka, eke, ika, 
ike, and iko. 

The Hawaiians have no word expressing gratitude, no 
name for son, child, aunt, uncle, and there are many other 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 169 

words that might be recalled for which they have no exact 
expression. Child is little one, and male child is little male; 
aunt and uncle come under the head of parent. 

There are no swear words in the language, an aggravated 
native being merely able to make some expression pertaining to 
the body. 

Some of their words are very quickly adopted by for- 
eigners, the word tabu, for instance, having been assumed 
into English. Residents use many of the native words in prefer- 
ence to English, even in conversation amongst themselves. One 
particular word is "pilikia," whose meaning is so broad that 
it covers everything. Any difficulty, distress, danger, acci- 
dent, row, death, breakdown to machinery, sickness, inability 
to fulfill contract, entanglement, is denominated pilikia. The 
polite native, instead of laughing at the foreigner, endeavors 
to meet him half way, and also uses the word, although quite 
capable of expressing the finest distinction between the above 
quoted expressions in the vernacular. 

A diligent study of the language by one of the earliest mis- 
sionaries convinced him that it was one of the oldest lan- 
guages extant, and instead of being a pigeon tongue was 
very exhaustive in its vocabulary, anything being capable 
of being expressed in it. One student of philology asserts 
that it has many words and more root words similar to those 
of the Sanscrit. Through the language and customs and type 
of the people he surmised that they originated in Syria, and 
from there came through Egypt, India, the East Indian 
islands, from where they branched out into the Pacific, gath- 
ering in as they traveled some of the habits and sounds of the 
races they displaced. 

Much as we admire the geniality of the Hawaiians, and 
their poetic natures, it is prophesied by those who have in- 
terested themselves in a study of the race that it is doomed 
to extinction. Where the red man meets the white the former 
succumbs, either through the diseases acquired from the lat- 
ter or from their vicious habits, which the red man adopts so 
quickly. Their language will probably outlive the race, hav- 
ing been adopted as a medium' of conversation between the 
inhabitants of Asia and the Anglo-Saxons who meet in Hawaii 
on common ground. 



CHAPTER XLI 

THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AN 

ORIGINAL PERPLEXING QUESTION WELL SOLVED.* 

AS the years rolled on, Breed's family increased, and he 
and his wife began to experience the difficulties of 
raising children in a country where educational facili- 
ties were comparatively limited. They employed a governess 
and erected a little school house, to which a few of the neigh- 
bors were allowed to send their children. The mother was 
extremely solicitous that her children should not associate 
with the natives for several reasons. A people so lately re- 
moved from barbarism naturally were too free in their lan- 
guage, and did not hesitate to speak of matters pertaining to 
the privacies of domestic life which are never uttered by an 
older civilization, except perhaps to the family physician. 
For this reason they were desirous that the little ones should 
not acquire a knowledge of the Hawaiian language. They 
were compelled to have some native servants, as the men in 
charge of the cattle, horses, dairy, house-yard, etc., and it 
was a continual care to the mother to guard her little ones 
from the contaminating influences which surrounded them. 

* The year 1910 shows Hawaii advanced in educational work to a 
point that has elicited unstinted praise from many prominent visitors. 
The public schools have kept march with the people, and no rural com- 
munity is so small that it has no public school, so few as a half dozen 
children being sometimes found in these out-lying school houses. In 
Honolulu are many grand public school buildings, that would do credit 
to any city in the Union. The public schools include the Lahainahma 
School for boys, on Maui (formerly a missionary school), and the new 
College of Hawaii, a high-grade school for both sexes, teaching scientific 
agriculture and the mechanic arts, and maintained jointly by federal and 
territorial appropriations. 

The private schools, too, are numerous and of high grade. The most 
prominent are the Kamehameha Schools for both boys and girls, Oahu 
College, the Mid-Pacific Institute (into which is incorporated the Mills 
Institute for boys, and the Kawaiahao Seminary for girls, and depart- 
ments for Koreans, Japanese and Chinese), St. Louis College, lolani 
School for boys, St. Andrew's Priory for girls. Aliiolani College for boys. 
Convent of the Sacred Heart for girls, Hilo Boys' Boarding School, 
Maunaolu Seminary for girls, and the Koloa Seminary for girls. There 
are also more than a few select private schools. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Haivaii. 171 

Many of the missionaries had experienced this difficulty, 
and had striven to prevent their children from learning the 
native language. It is rarely that a native could be lound 
who did not delight in using expressions which had a double 
entendre, and their actions and gestures in conversation were 
more or less rude and suggestive. Some parents amongst the 
foreign population were not so particular in guarding their 
children from these contaminations as Mrs. Breed. Hence 
arose a delicate question of allowing their children the privi- 
lege of attending the little private school, which was the cause 
of some bickering in the society of the neighborhood. 

As the children of the missionaries had grown up and were 
in need of a higher education than the mother could give 
them, they had established a school in the vicinity of Hono- 
lulu, where they could be instructed in the advanced studies 
and have the comforts of home and its sacred influences. This 
was in 1841. This school was called Punahou, and in after 
years incorporated under the name of Oahu College. Here 
the missionaries endeavored to have their children instructed 
until they were prepared to matriculate in son^e of the col- 
leges in the Eastern States. 

After the establishment of Oahu College the school au- 
thorities were besought to allow children of other than mis- 
sionaries to participate in the advantages of the college, and 
the same question arose as to the advisability of admitting 
children who had not been brought up with the same care 
that had surrounded those of the mission. 

The missionaries were very indifferently paid, some re- 
ceiving barely enough to supply their material wants, yet 
they struggled to support the college which was so essential 
to the future welfare of their children. Probably the extra 
tuition fees to be received induced the management to accept 
a limited number of children of residents of the Islands. 

Punahou, as the alumni so dearly love to call it, was a suc- 
cess from its inception, and many of those who graduated 
there have made their mark in the world. Our hero, although 
a pedagogue in his youth, did not have tim'C to devote to the 
supervision of the education of his children, consequently on 
Mamma's shoulders devolved this task. One after another, 
as the children arrived at an age when they could be carried 
no farther by the governess or tutor, they Avere sent to com- 
plete their education at Punahou. Breed had resolved that 



172 The Master Planter; or 

no child of his should go out into the world without an edu- 
cation, and that each of them should have a profession or 
a trade. 

As they left home he gave them good advice, amongst 
which was to refrain from contracting evil habits. "I can 
not foresee," said he, "the company you will be likely to as- 
sociate with, nor can I forewarn you as to the insidious man- 
ner in which such habits are acquired, but I can warn you 
against evil company. Should you contract irregular habits 
you may remember that by controlling your thoughts these 
can be overcome, and that although scarred by evil contami- 
nations you can come back to that plane from which you 
have deviated." 

The parents parted with their children with deep solicitude, 
but knowing that they had engrafted on their plastic minds 
principles of honesty, economy, industry and virtue, they let 
them go, feeling certain that their future was assured. The 
mother arranged with each of them to maintain a weekly 
correspondence, feeling that the contact thereby maintained 
would repay her tenfold. 

In after years we find some of the sons, who elected to 
follow in the footsteps of their father, in charge of some of 
the sub-plantations making part of the estate. Others took 
degrees at Eastern colleges and in various ways made their 
mark in life. Several of the children intermarried with de- 
scendants of the missionaries and thus their lives became in- 
terwoven with that honorable body of men and women who, 
amidst great hardships had devoted their lives to the eleva- 
tion of the Hawaiian. Singular to say, they, with the de- 
scendants of the missionaries, are dubbed as "missionaries," 
which in some mdnds is a term of reproach. Happy would 
the speaker be if he had as little to reproach himself with. 
On the occasion of the ordination of an English Bishop to 
the See of Honolulu, he was informed that "you are sent to 
the Sandwich Islands to preach the gospel to the heathen 
and the refuse of civilization who mingle with them." Prob- 
ably this term of reproach, "missionary," originated with this 
"refuse of civilization," and is still used by them. A man 
who pays his debts and lives a moral life can stand being 
dubbed a "missionary," and many such would be proud if the 
title were true. 

The Principal of Oahu College forwarded to Breed one of 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 173 

his son's compositions, writing that on seeing the caption 
he felt inclined to censure the boy, but on reading it care- 
fully he thought it worthy of preservation. We take pleasure 
in inserting it in this history of our hero life's for the edifi- 
cation of our readers : 

"a chinaman and a mongoose." 

A Chinaman in charge of a floodgate in the irrigation sys- 
tem on one of the plantations was undergoing the operation 
of having his head shaved at the hands of one of his co- 
laborers. This they do every Sunday in this country; when 
they do it at home I do not know, as they have no Sundays in 
their land. I suppose the Chinamen think it queer to have 
to remain idle one day in seven. I know they are all the 
better for it. 

While in the hands of the barber he saw a mongoose run 
into the roomi, and, breaking away from the barber, he closed 
the door with the intention of capturing the intruder. They 
had a lively time before they succeeded in covering it with a 
bucket. The room looked as if there had been "rough house" 
played in it by a Avell-drilled company. They were in as much 
dread of the mongoose as it was of them. Finally the China- 
man made friends with his captive and they became very 
intimate. One day the following conversation took place be- 
tween them : 

Chinaman — "You long-tailed animal, what did you want 
to come in here for?" 

Mongoose — "Because I was hungry." 

C. — "Don't you know there is a reward offered for your 
capture?" 

M. — "Why do you call me long-tail? your tail is longer 
than mine." 

C. — "That is so; but mine is a badge of servitude, which 
my people are compelled to wear since our country was con- 
quered by the Manchus." 

M. — "Mine is a natural appendage and very useful. You 
say there is a reward offered for my capture ; do you not know 
that the Legislature, while passing the law, neglected to ap- 
propriate any money to pay the reward?" 

C. — "No. i did not know that; I thought they were wise 
men and did everything right." 



174 The Master Planter; or 



M. — "Don't you know that there is a reward in the form 
of a large fee, for the capture of every long-tailed Chinaman 
illegally in the country?" 

C. — "Yes, I know that; but I came here by invitation; how 
did you come into the country?" 

M. — "I was brought here by a big fat man from Jamaica, 
for the purpose of killing off the rats." 

C. — "Well, why do you not stick to that line of business?" 

M. — "So I did until the rats became scarce, and I found it 
was easier to make a living by eating chickens and eggs, and 
also the eggs and young of pheasants and other birds which 
are fool enough to make their nests on the ground." 

C. — "Well, they will exterminate you because you do not 
confine yourself to your business." 

M. — "That's what they say about you. They will deport 
you, not because you do not stick to your business, but be- 
cause you do work that other people cannot do and would 
not do if they could." 

C. — "Well, this is a queer country; if you do what you are 
sent for they will deport you, and if you don't do what you 
were sent for, they will exterminate you." 

M. — "Yes, but even if you are willing and the work is nec- 
essary to be done, they will neither do it themselves nor let 
others do it." 

C. — "Then, indeed, we long-tails should be friends, as we 
are both hunted down by the man with the gun." 

M. — "It is an unpleasant situation. If they had left me 
in my own country, I would have been better ofif." 

C. — "I came here to better my condition, and now I find 
I am not wanted. I think I will go back and let them till 
their own land." 

M. — "That reminds me of the mutiny on the ship. All 
wanted to be officers, and when they got into the boat to go 
ashore each one sang out, 'Pull away!' but the boat did not 
move, and all were likely to be dashed onto the rocks." 

So the Chinaman and the Mongoose clasped tails, and 
swore eternal friendship ; but the Chinaman lived in hopes 
that the Legislature would appropriate the money for the 
reward, and the Mongoose lived in hope of getting into the 
Chinaman's chicken coop. 

George W. Breed. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 175 

Oahu College during the past sixty years has grown very 
much, and some of the older alumni cannot recognize the in- 
stitution, as only one of the original buildings now remains. 
Many of its graduates have kindly remembered alma mater 
and endowed it, while other parties, who appreciated its use- 
fulness, have donated funds for the erection of buildings 
which gradually encroach on the cam^pus where so many of 
the youth of the Islands have passed so many happy days. 
The original site was granted by a chief, and from the un- 
used part of the grant much land has been sold for building 
sites and the funds invested for an income for the institution.* 

* June 25-26, 1891, Oahu College celebrated the 50th anniversary of 
its founding. On that occasion Professor W. D. Alexander, the his- 
torian, delivered an address from which the following interesting notes 
are taken: 

"The site which was chosen for it (Oahu College) is not without 
historical associations. It has been observed that springs — the 'eyes' 
of the land, as the Hebrews called them — have often been the haunts 
of the Muses, and centres of rising civilization. And we may even 
venture to hope that not even the spring of Castalia nor that of Vau- 
cluse will, in future ages, be more illustrious than that of Punahou; 
and that this last may prove to be what its name signifies, a 'new- 
spring' of knowledge and pure religion. 

"The ancient legend concerning it was thus told to the writer by the 
venerable Kauhi and his wife, Martha Pohopu, some thirty years ago. 
Long ago an aged couple were living near the present spring. It was 
a time of drought and famine, when the people were obliged to search 
the mountains for ti-root and wild yams for food, and to trudge to 
Kamoiliili to fill their calabashes with drinking water. The outer 
spring seems to have dried up. One night the old lady dreamed that 
a man appeared to her, to whom she complained bitterly about her 
having to go so far for water, upon which he said: '^He wai no' — 
(there is water) — and told her that beneath the stump of an old panda- 
nus tree near by there was water. She awoke her husband and told 
him the dream, but he made light of it. The next night he had a simi- 
lar dream. The apparition directed him to go to the sea and catch 
some red fish, to roast them in ti-leaves, reserving a part as an offering 
to the family deities, and then to pull up the old tree by the roots. He 
awoke, and lo! it was a dream. But the impression it made on him was 
so strong that, in the morning, he hastened to carry out the directions 
that he had received, and when at last he pulled up the tree, water 
oozed out from beneath it roots. He dug out the place, and thus was 
formed the inner spring. A fish-pond was formed below the spring, 
and a dozen or more taro-patches irrigated from it. 

"After the conquest of Oahu by Kamehameha I in 1795, he gave 
Moanalua, Kapunahou and other lands to Kameeiamoku, one of the four 
great chiefs who had raised him to the throne, and who had aided him 



176 The Master Planter; or 

Education has been promoted in all parts of the Islands, 
and there is no small valley where people live which does not 
have its school house. In centers like Honolulu and Hilo, the 
school buildings stand out prominently, light houses, as it 
were, to show the respect for enlightenment by both native 
and foreign residents. In early days the Board of Education 
had the foresight to obtain patents for lands for school houses 
in every district, as well as title to some lands which might 
produce rentals for the support of education. It would have 

in all his wars. The chief was notorious for having captured the little 
schooner Pair American and having massacred the crew with the ex- 
ception of Isaac Davis, in revenge for an outrage committed by Capt. 
Metcalf, of the Eleanor, some months before. Kameeiamoku died at 
Lahaina in 1802, and his lands descended to his son Hoapili, the most 
intimate friend of Kamehameha I., who afterwards became Governor of 
Maui. Hoapili resided several years at Punahou. near the spring, and 
during the Conqueror's second residence on Oahu, from 1804 to 1811, 
he also and his wives frequently visited this charming retreat. Hoapili 
gave Punahou to his daughter Liliha, who married Governor Boki, and 
after their return from England in the Blonde in 1825, they frequently 
resided here. 

"In December, 1829, just before starting on his fatal sandalwood ex- 
pedition, Boki gave Punahou to Eev. H. Bingham, with the approval of 
the Queen-Eegent, Kaahumanu. 

"In 1831 Kaahumanu caused a stone wall to be built, extending from 
Punchbowl Hill, across Punahou, nearly to Moiliili, in order to protect 
the cultivated lands above it from the cattle and horses grazing on the 
Kulaokahuna Plain. Part of this old wall still exists between Punahou 
and Piikoi streets. A large rock was placed on each side of the Manoa 
road by Governor Kuakini, to form a gateway, of which the smaller 
rock on the Ewa side still remains. The larger rock on the other side, 
about ten feet in height and weighing several tons, in spite of its his- 
torical associations, was broken in pieces, about 1857, and used in build- 
ing the wall enclosing the old Mower pasture.' The story of the mov- 
ing of this rock, as told by Dr. Judd, is as follows: 

" 'When Kuakini. alias Governor Adams, had called out the people 
of this district to build the wall, he assigned the section adjoining 
Punahou to the 'Hulumanu,' or body-guard of the young King, Kame- 
hameha III. The 'big rock' was then exhumed from its bed (on the 
west side of the road leading to Manoa Valley, opposite the old 'Cow 
Pen'), and rolled upon a frame-work of ship's spars. The 3'oung King 
then seated himself upon the apex of the rock, and gave the word of 
command, when rock. King and all were lifted upon the shoulders of the 
Hulum anus— numerous as ants tugging at a kernel of corn— and carried 
down to its place.' 

"The advantages of Punahou as a site for a boarding-school were ob- 
served as early as 1831, for in that year the Rev. Reuben Tinker, while 
riding past, remarked to Dr. Baldwin, his companion, 'that, sir, is the 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 177 

been well if the natives could have been taught English from 
the beginning, on account of the facility of obtaining books 
in that language, but there were not sufficient teachers. The 
number of books translated into the vernacular is very 
limited, and the education of the native is therefore very cir- 
cumscribed, although almost all can read and write, while 
many of them are very fair English scholars. 

site of the future college.' And long before Mr. Bingham's return to 
the United States in August, 1840, he had offered the land for this pur- 
pose. 

"In 1831, Mr. Bingham built the 'old house' of adobe, behind the site 
of the President's house (near a clump of hau trees), where it stood for 
over thirty years. To this cool and quiet retreat he often retired from 
the heat and noise of the plain. 

"The land lying between the taro patches and the gate was planted 
with sugar cane in those days, and the famous 'bathing pond' (after- 
wards enlarged by Mr. Rice), was first excavated to serve as a storage 
reservoir for the purpose of irrigation. 

"The wall along Punahou street was built in 1836 under the direction 
of Mr. E. O. Hall, assisted by Mr. H. Dimond, while the remainder of 
the enclosure was completed by the natives, under Mrs. Bingham's 
supervision. 

"The need of a school for their children had long been felt by the 
missionaries, who were themselves men of liberal education, and no 
hardship of their lot was so keenly felt as the heart-breaking separation 
from their children, sent away from loving homes at a tender age, to a 
distant land for their education." * * * 



CHAPTER XLII 



RELIGION OF THE EARLY HAWAIIANS AND WHY THE PEOPLE 

WERE READY TO RECEIVE CHRISTIANITY EVIDENCES 

OF EARLY CIVILIZATION. 

SOMEWHAT has been written of the sports, the super- 
stitions, the language, the innate hospitahty, the 
knowledge of the sciences and arts prior to the advent 
of the foreigner ; and it might be well to say something of 
the religion or religious belief of the people. No new land 
has ever been discovered wherein the aborigines did not have 
som^e religious belief — sometimes, as in the case of the Aus- 
tralians, of a very low or indistinct, indefinite type. The 
Hawaiians, on the contrary, were a people very much addicted 
to worshiping gods, and amongst them were those to whom 
were attributed powers greater than others. Like a ma- 
jority of the human race, it was easier to believe and worship 
when the god or a representative of him was tangible. It may 
be that the very lowest of them believed that the carved image 
had power in itself to bless or blast them, but the masses did 
not so believe ; they worshiped the invisible through the 
visible type. There was hardly a branch of domestic economy 
into which the gods did not take part, or in which the aid 
of a particular god was not solicited. In fishing, in hus- 
bandry, in the arts, in the household, particular incantations 
were made by kahunas, soliciting the success of the under- 
taking. Naturally a field so replete with superstition was a 
garden for the strong-minded kahunas, who worked on the 
credulity of the masses, both for their own benefit and to 
maintain the power of the chiefs. This, however, is merely 
a repetition of what history tells us has been the case with 
all the races of the world. 

Amongst a people so circumscribed and isolated, and whose 
increasing numbers threatened to overpopulate a land as 
limited as Hawaii, it was necessary to make provision for 
sustaining life. The sea being replete with food fishes and 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 179 



algge, the Hawaiians became adept fishermen, using many 
means to capture the denizens of the deep. 

In places on the coasts where the shallows ran far out and 
in inlets of the sea, walls were built and ponds constructed 
which permitted the ingress of fish and at the same time au- 
tomatically prevented the egress, large traps as it were. These 
afforded breeding places and a convenient receptacle from 
which they could draw at any time. The tabu was eifective 
to prevent the catching of certain fish at times in the year 
when they were known to spawn. They regularly fed cer- 
tain fish with squash and other food to entice them to return 
periodically to the same place. 

Their ingenuity in making canoes and fishnets, some of the 
latter of great dimensions, has been mentioned. In making 
fish hooks from the limited material of bone, shell, and hard 
woods they exhibited no mean skill. They studied the habits 
and habitats of fish, and their skill in taking and preserving 
them both by drying and salting was remarkable. 

Their familiarity with the sea and its inhabitants was uni- 
versal, it being rare that a native could be found who was 
not an expert swimmer, many of them being able to remain 
under water for a long time. They had no fear of any of its 
denizens and would attack a man-eating shark with the aid 
of a stick sharpened at both ends and kill it. Their knowl- 
edge of the alg£e or seaweed was very extensive, many kinds 
of which were edible, and others used for medicinal purposes. 

In agriculture they excelled and were observant of the sea- 
sons. They assisted nature in carrying pollen from flower 
to flower and thereby produced superior species which were 
assiduously cultivated. They recognized the value of a change 
in diet and of places of residence for recuperation. They 
would abandon a diet of taro, for breadfruit or for that of 
sweet potatoes for the well-known effect on the system. In 
fact, in so many hundreds of ways were they superior to what 
the discoverer thought them to be, that the early Hawaiians 
mig^ht be termed a civilized race. 



CHAPTER XLIII 

DEBASEMENT AND DECIMATION OF HAWAIIANS DUE TO WHITE 
REFUSE OF CIVILIZATION WHO PRECEDED MISSIONARIES. 

WHEN the first missionaries arrived at the Islands, they 
were by no means the first white men to settle here; 
in fact, there was quite a colony scattered through- 
out the group. 

These men were almost all sailors, who had deserted from 
merchant vessels, although some were from national vessels. 
None of them were officers or of the educated classes. It was 
often said that "when a man rounds Cape Horn he leaves 
conscience behind," and this was true of nearly all of those who 
settled on the Islands of the Pacific in very early days. There 
were some few exceptions. 

The number of these sailors was continually augmented by 
arriving vessels, each of which left some behind, and gen- 
erally the worst men in the crew or ones whom^ the officers 
were glad to be rid of. 

Many of this white refuse of civilization came up from Aus- 
tralia, from whence they were escaped "lags," or, having 
learned all the vices of the "lags," were allowed to leave for their 
country's good. 

Others came from Hongkong in the early trading vessels, 
wdiich was not much to boast of. The very Hawaiian word 
for Chinaman is a standing monument to the licentiousness 
and bestiality of that free port. 

When a white man falls, he sinks deeper into crime and 
licentiousness than the barbarians amongst whom he has set- 
tled. This is doubly unfortunate, as from their intelligence and 
skill with toofs they are naturally looked up to by their bar- 
barian hosts and their example has a most pernicious influ- 
ence. 

They found a people who, with few exceptions, were mo- 
nogamous in their home life, but they paid no respect to the 
families of natives and broke into them most ruthlessly. All 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 181 

the world over primitive people make some form of intoxi- 
cating drink, and the Hawaiian was no exception. Theirs, 
however, went no farther than the fermenting of starchy foods, 
like sweet potatoes, taro, ti root, etc., and making a narcotic 
drink from the root of awa or piper methystieuni. 

The runaway sailor taught them to distil these fermenta- 
tions and make alcohol. The knowledge of this art quickly 
spread through the group, the name of the liquor "okole-hao" 
from its having been made through the use of a musket barrel 
for condensing the steam, being still the name for this, now 
surreptitiously made, fire-water. 

It might be said that drunkenness was universal, so quickly 
did the natives take to it and so widespread was its use. 

Having thus debased the aborigine with alcohol, disrupted 
and corrupted his family and dragged him to a lower level 
than in his barbarism he had ever dreamed of, these white 
men were naturally the first to resent the moral teachings of 
the missionaries. 

They endeavored to enlist the natives against them and on 
more than one occasion personally led the lower elem.ent in 
attempts to destroy the homes of and kill the missionaries. Also 
by assertions and innuendo they endeavored to render nuga- 
tory their precepts and teachings. 

They manufactured a word for hypocrite, "mikinari," which 
was applied to those who followed the teachings of the mis- 
sionaries, as the term Christian was, in derogation, applied 
to the followers of Christ. 

The immorality inculcated by this refuse of civilization was 
extremely difficult to eradicate, and added tenfold to the labors 
of the missionaries. 

The debasement and decimation of the Hawaiian is due 
almost wholly to this refuse of civilization and their progeny. 

The sterling qualities of the early missionaries and the 
examples of their moral lives could not be decried, however, 
and the natives generally learned to love and respect them. 

The sons of missionaries, with some noble exceptions, did 
not follow in the footsteps of their fathers and become teach- 
ers of the gospel ; but the mass of them would form a com- 
munity much above the average of any of a similar size in 
the United States in education and morality. 

I have said elsewhere that the epithet "missionary" was an 
opprobium applied by a certain class when speaking deroga- 



182 The Master Planter. « 

tively of any one. The reader will now understand the origin 
and meaning of the epithet, and comprehend the standing 
of the speaker or one applying the term. 

Later coming foreigners mingling with the progeny of the 
"refuse" find the term come trippingly on the tongue, and 
we even read in the writings of an alleged learned Doctor 
that the "missionaries introduced gin among the Hawaiians." 
It merely exhibits the character of his associates here while 
learning somewhat of the history of the decimation of the 
natives. 



CHAPTER XLIV 



LIFE IN HAWAII AND WHAT IT STANDS FOR TO PEOPLE WHO CALL 
THE ISLANDS ""hOME." 

SOME one has said that "the bronze statue of Kameha- 
meha the Great, which ornaments the grounds of the 
Judiciary Building, in Honokdu, is typical of a trait of 
the Hawaiian people in welcoming those of other lands." To 
those who call Hawaii their home and to those who have 
visited the Islands there is as much truth as poetry in the 
expression. Standing with his right arm extended, palm up- 
wards, he welcomes all the world. In his left hand he holds 
a spear, suggestive of protection. From the discovery of the 
group, in 1778, the reputation of the natives for gentleness 
and hospitality has been maintained. The unfortunate killing 
of Captain Cook by the natives should not be wholly charge- 
able to them, as there was some "contributory negligence" 
on his part that is not set down in the geographies of our 
school-boy days, which not only recite part of the story, but 
add to it that "his body was eaten." 

One of the very ancient traditions amongst the Hawaiians 
was that a Messiah, "Lono," would in due time couTe back to 
the Islands and in grander form than that of his departure. 
So that when the immense vessels (called by the natives 
"moku," islands) hove in sight and an English captain ar- 
rayed in brilliant uniform stepped ashore it is not surprising 
that they worshiped him, as they did. The surprise is that 
he permitted it, for, having made considerable stay at New 
Zealand and Tahiti, where the language is very similar to the 
Haw^aiian, as well as the worship of idols, he not only was 
capable of talking with them, but permitted them to offer 
sacrifices to him for some ulterior purpose. One must be 
very clever who would sustain the reputation of being a god. 
But he was not, and his death was not wholly due to the 
treachery of the natives. The long stay of his vessels and the 
lavish hospitality showered on him and his men by the 



184 The Master Planter; or 



chiefs had become very burdensome on the people, as the 
foodstuffs had to be carried great distances, over the most 
rugged roads in the world, to the port where his ships lay 
sheltered at anchor, and it took very little to snap the cord 
of reverence and friendship which existed. The Captain, 
following a course he had successfully adopted in the South 
Seas, unwittingly took the step and paid the penalty. In no 
land are the rulers more revered than in Hawaii, and when 
Captain Cook endeavored to coerce the king into going on 
board his ship, intending to hold him as a hostage for the 
recovery of a boat which was stolen, he was hustled and hit 
with a stone, at which he groaned, thus dissipating the be- 
lief that he was a god. 

When the great King, Kamehameha, came into power, he 
yearned to have a "haole," (foreigner) of his own, and when 
opportunity offered he cut off John Young from a visiting 
crew and detained him, 1790. When he saw the anxiety of 
Mr. Young to return to his own people, Kamehameha did 
all in his power to assuage his grief at the separation. He 
gave him a beautiful wife of high lineage, a large retinue, 
some of his choicest lands, and treated him in the most hos- 
pitable manner. Fortunately the king had found a good man, 
one whose counsel was wise, and in whom he placed the most 
im'plicit confidence. 

Whether his advice was to be kind to strangers, or more 
than likely hospitality was an inherent trait in Hawaiian 
character, foreigners have always been made welcome. So 
it was on the arrival of the first company of American mis- 
sionaries in 1820, the chiefs made them as comfortable as 
their means would permit. 

In preparing to write on "Life in Hawaii," the idea was 
formed of showing in many ways how this admitted hos- 
pitality of the aborigines extended in society, commerce, cli- 
mate, and even the very soil yielded up its wealth to the 
educated, trained agriculturist from foreign lands. And also 
how the feeling engendered in the recipients of the kindness 
of the natives a reciprocal feeling of love and respect for them. 

As one leaves the chilly and fog-bound coast of California 
bound for Hawaii he soon begins to realize a change in the 
weather and the heavy wraps are laid aside. The sky as- 
sumes a bluer tinge, the sea becomes smoother, the trade 
winds waft the voyager towards his goal, and, perchance, if 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 185 



at the proper season of the year, the Southern Cross is seen 
in the heavens. The everchanging sea has its charms, and 
perhaps schools of flying fish or porpoise engage his atten- 
tion, while the brilliancy of the sunrise lures him from his 
couch, and the phosphorescent sea will tempt him to watch- 
ing it to late hours. One morning the Islands will spring 
into view, and from that time until he leaves them, be it ever so 
long, life will take on new charms. 

The trade winds, which blow nine months in the year, carry 
moisture sufficient to furnish a mantle of green to the ser- 
rated ranges of mountains on each island. As the voyager 
sails along the coast the ever-changing scenery engages his 
attention. The first view which the northerner obtains of 
the tropics is pleasing and lasting. It would appear that the 
shores were fringed with palms, while other rioting wealth 
of verdure extends to the crests of the mountains. 

If the coast of Oahu, on which Honolulu is situated, is first 
sighted, he will notice the peculiarly shaped headlands of 
Mokapu, Makapuu, and Diamond Head, all of them ancient 
extinct craters. Rounding the latter, the city of Honolulu 
springs into view, a city embowered in foliage. A few high 
buildings are seen, but the inhabitants love to dwell in cot- 
tages, cottages with verandas of wide dimensions, where they 
pass so ni<uch of their lives. The city's watering resort, Wai- 
kiki, with its cozy hotels, is passed as he makes his way to 
the entrance to the harbor. Then he sees the bronze-skinned, 
laughing faces of the boatboys who bring the pilot on board, 
and is agreeably impressed. Arrived at the wharf, he thinks 
half of the city has turned out to welcome him, as the arrival 
of steamers will never cease to be a novelty to the people of 
Honolulu. He finds himself bound for one of the comfort- 
able hotels in an auto, hack or the street cars, and except for 
the tropical surroundings would be unaware that he had left 
the mainland. 

The word "aloha" (welcome) is on every lip, and as he be- 
comes better acquainted he will find that this is not super- 
ficial. While the natives, from ancient times, always wel- 
comed the alien, they also acquiesced in their innovations 
and adopted such as were pleasing. 

He will rarely see a tree, shrub or vine on the lowlands 
which was not introduced by the foreigner. While the natural 
shrubbery was beautiful, still those who had circumnavigated 



186 The Master Planter; or 

the globe knew of rare and charming trees, shrubs and vines 
in other parts of the tropical world and sought to introduce 
them into the land they had learned to love. As a consequence 
we find the macadamized roads lined with hedges of many 
varieties, and rare ornamental trees and vines embellishing 
well-kept grounds on every hand. By the way, this keeping 
up of grounds in the tropics requires much work, as the 
growth is so luxuriant that the lawns must be frequently 
mowed and the falling leaves require daily removal. 

In place of the thatched hut which housed the aboriginal 
inhabitant, the native has adopted the frame buildings of the 
foreigner. Also he has furnished it throughout with furni- 
ture and bric-a-brac from across the ocean. In adopting the 
house and furniture of the alien he also largely adopted his 
manner of living so far as he believed it was an improvement 
on that which maintained amongst his forefathers. 

The earliest writer who describes the natives speaks of the 
universal custom of both sexes of wearing wreaths of flowers, 
ferns or vines. In this respect they differed from the Poly- 
nesians of the South Seas, who disfigured their ears, noses 
and lips by piercing them and inserting ornaments (?) of 
bone, shell or wood. This pretty custom of wreath-wearing 
was reciprocally adopted by the foreigner, and those who are 
to the manor born or who have lived long in the country do 
not consider it bad taste to wear a "lei" or wreath. 

There may be some exceptions, but the courtesy and polite- 
ness of the Hawaiians is proverbial, and their geniality is con- 
tagious. They appear to take little forethought for the mor- 
row, and do not enter the race for the almighty dollar to the 
exclusion of enjoyment of the present, as is the custom of 
the outside world. Who will say they are not as well off 
when the silver thread breaks as they who have maintained 
a continuous struggle to the last to acquire "filthy lucre?" 

They are fond of good clothes, the women especially al- 
ways appearing well dressed. They have adopted a custom 
or fashion which warranted comfort, and in this have been 
largely followed by foreign ladies.* In their manner of living 

* No doubt the holoku, a dress similar to the well-known "Mother 
Hubbard" of the mainland, is here referred to. This dress, however, 
is not an invention of the Hawaiians, but was introduced by the first 
missionary "mothers," who made the first dresses of the kind for some 
of the Hawaiian women of rank, and then taught them and other Ha- 
waiians, how to make the garment 'for themselves, and to do other needle- 
work. 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 187 

they adopted a happy medium between the extreme punc- 
tiliousness of the alien and the crudeness of the aborigine. 
Their staff of life, instead of bread, is "poi," a dish made 
either from mashed taro, sweet potatoes or breadfruit, and 
the old residents and foreigners born on the soil have learned 
to like it. 

In earlier days society was much more mixed than at pres- 
ent, and many felicitous marriages took place between the 
two races. It would appear that in the blending of the two 
races there has been a certain reciprocity maintaining through 
which they have approached each other closer than a stranger 
would expect. From expressions made by them it is notice- 
able that others than Anglo-Saxons are not considered their 
social equals. Marriages have occurred between Hawaiians 
and others than whites, but as a rule these are deprecated. 
While respecting the learning of the Anglo-Saxon and prob- 
ably his manner of living, the native has always felt himself 
the social equal of any. 

I have spoken of their innate hospitality and of their custom 
of entertaining strangers, and must admit they have not al- 
ways entertained "angels unaware," but have been sadly 
deceived. 

To the visitor, the numerous races met on the streets is 
always a source of interest. The native has long been out- 
numbered by the Japanese and Chinese, who have supplanted 
him in many walks in life. The Japanese apes the foreigner 
in dress, whilst the Chinese adheres largely to the fashions 
of Cathay. It is not an uncommon occurrence to see Orientals 
using the native language as a medium of conversation. The 
Chinaman is the gardener of the Islands and supplies all the 
vegetables found in the markets, or rather which he brings 
to the door of the consumer. Also he has supplanted the na- 
tive in preparing poi, the Hawaiian staff of life. The Japan- 
ese, on the other hand, has supplanted the native in his calling 
as fisherman, at wdiich the Hawaiian was an adept. Coming 
from lands where horses were by no means common, we find 
these Orientals driving and owning hacks and wagons and 
even automobiles. The Chinese do all the washing for both 
whites and natives, and it is a very common occurrence to see 
them delivering the laundered clothes in hacks Avhich have 
probably outlived their day. 

Perhaps of all places of interest to the student of humanity 



188 The Master Planter; or 

is the public schools, out of which pour hundreds of children 
of every shade of color and of many nationalities. All are 
learning English, and frequently the Chinese excel on ac- 
count of their intense application as students. They enter 
the athletic sports together, talk English, perhaps brokenly, 
and are becoming Americanized. Thoughtful tourists, see- 
ing the wonderfully cosmopolitan population, wonder what 
will be the nature of that which will maintain on the Islands 
in the future. It certainly will be a blending of the Occident 
and orient. 

Witli one or two great exceptions the natives own very 
little land and are almost all dependent on their daily earn- 
ings. The cause of this peculiarity lies in the fact that at 
the time of the great division of lands in 1847-8 the common 
people were awarded such small pieces as they or their 
parents proved up as having been cultivated or resided on by 
them. The chiefs, on the contrary, were awarded large divis- 
ions (excepting the rights or kuleanas of the common people 
within the borders thereof). Most of the small pieces were 
adequate for their support prior to their acquirement of arti- 
ficial wants, learned from the foreigner, but afterwards al- 
most valueless. As nearly all of the lands of the people were 
taro lands or house-lots, and these were adapted to the cul- 
tivation of sugar, they were gradually sold to sugar com- 
panies and their owners reduced to plantation laborers or 
have dropped into the metropolis in search of day labor. 

The chiefs, unaccustomed to providing for themselves, 
gradually disposed of their lands to foreigners, and have be- 
come almost extinct. From the well-known character of the 
natives it is believed that should the remaining government 
lands be divided amongst them, or should each of the present 
generation be granted tracts of land, another generation 
would witness the foreigner in possession of those likewise. 
Had the land been granted to them in the first instance with 
a clause prohibiting alienation, they would have leased 
them or abandoned them on account of their inability to sup- 
port them for the cause above stated. Free hospitality and 
their innate generosity unfit them to compete with those of 
other countries who pursue the almighty dollar to the ex- 
clusion of present enjoyment. 

Although we do not find that architecture in Hawaii 
reached the stage which it did in Babylon, still, in spite of 



Life ill the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 189 



the limited means, lack of metals, etc., their dwellings were 
models of neatness and comfort. Some of their irrigating 
ditches and mountain roads were laid out as skilfully as if 
done by a modern civil engineer. The chiefs, having un- 
limited control of the people, compelled them to labor and 
preserve the banks of streams so that the water might not 
devastate large tracts. This was sometimes a severe tax on 
the people, as the necessary stone for embankments might 
be at great distances and had to be carried or passed from 
hand to hand, requiring all the available labor in the district. 
They had no means of breaking up rock and were compelled 
to use only what was portable. 

This building of embankments against the furious tropical 
freshets involved frequent renewals, and only by the feudal 
manner of government could it have been maintained. 

After the advent of the foreigner and the chiefs lost con- 
trol of the people, many of these embankments were allowed 
to dilapidate and much of the anciently cultivated land was 
overflowed with rocks and debris carried down by the freshets. 

Signs of cultivation or residence in remote parts of the 
islands, in the form of stone enclosures, either used for pens 
for pigs or the walls of houses, still remain to attest to the 
dense population which once filled the land. Also embank- 
ments of water courses, now covered with alluvion and 
grown over with wild vines and shrubbery, show to what ex- 
tremes the native was compelled to go to conserve the life- 
giving water. 

It is curious that from water, the fluid which is so abund- 
ant and never resting until it finds its level, touching 
alike the rich and the poor, the great and the humble, should 
come the Hawaiian word for law. It probably arose from 
the commands of the chief allowing to each division of land 
its proper share, either in time of flowing or in quantity. 
From those early divisions, a knowledge of which was trans- 
mitted from father to son, men became imbued with a sense 
of possessing rights which none could trample on with im- 
punity, and in regard to water rights as well as in owner- 
ship of any other tangible or intangible affairs, men were 
ready to defend them against the aggressor. 

The innate selfishness of mankind provoked war amongst 
the HaAvaiians as it is doing among nations the world round. 
Those internecine wars may have been useful as factors in 



190 The Master Planter, 



political economy, by reducing the superfluous population, 
or causing the survival of the fittest. 

By some means the ancient people arose from a very low- 
estate, denominated by them "po" or night, to the state of 
civilization they were enjoying at the time of the advent of 
the white man, and were ready to receive and appreciate the 
teachings of the gospel. A more fruitful soil for the planting 
of Christianity was found nowhere on the face of the globe, 
and probably if it had not been that at the same time some of 
the same white men planted tares which choked the growth 
of the high teachings of the missionaries, the Hawaiians 
would have continued to multiply, and the land would today 
be filled with a race whose natural characteristics denoted 
their superiority. 

Hawaii, its geography, history, ethnography, philology, 
botany, and manners, customs and habits of its people, af- 
fords an inexhaustible theme for the writer, and one, too, 
which will have an increasing interest to readers throughout 
the civilized world. 



CHAPTER XLV 

METAL BEING UNKNOWN TO THE ANCIENT HAWAIIANS, THE ART 
OF WEAVING ENTERED INTO THEIR EVERY UTILITY. 

THE ancient Hawaiians belonged to that class of Poly- 
nesians which may be called tapa-beaters in contra- 
distinction to weavers, yet the infinitude of uses to 
which they applied fibrous materials must be considered under 
the head of weaving. For some occult reason the knowledge 
of the loom was not brought with them in their migrations 
from the south or earlier still from India, Persia, Egypt and 
Syria, whence the study of philology shows them to have 
originated. In New Zealand we find the natives using the 
loom for spinning the flax of the country, and their traditions 
show that they were descended from the Hawaiians. It is 
more than likely that the loom came in at a later date with 
a migration from the northwest, which also brought with it 
a defined change in the language of the New Zealanders. 

Weaving covers the minor arts of platting, braiding and 
netting, and combined we will see they were of prime im- 
portance to a people to whom metals were unknown. 

The very home of the Hawaiian was a complete conception 
of the weaving art ; apart from the posts of the house, which 
were embedded in the ground, the whole was woven together 
with twisted cords of fibrous materials of which the tropical 
forest aft'orded an abundance. The plates (lohelau) were 
fastened to the posts (pou), the rafters (o'a) to the plates, 
and the battens (aho) to the posts and rafters by these same 
fibrous materials. 

In the better houses the lining was made of dried, smooth 
banana stalks, rushes or cane leaves woven on to the battens 
in a very neat manner. Then the work of thatching was be- 
gun, which consisted in weaving on the pili grass, which ren- 
dered the whole impervious to the elements. Frequently the 
corners, hips and ridge were bonneted with the durable 
amauniau fern, which, through its brown color, gave an ar- 



192 The Master Planter; or 

tistic effect to the structure. The Hntels and sides of the 
doors or other openings were platted to better resist the wind 
and which also added to their neatness and durability. 

The earthen floors were covered with mats platted from 
the leaves of the hala or pandanus, which to the Hawaiians 
was one of the most useful trees of the forest. Not only 
were the floors covered, but piles of these mats made the 
beds of both chiefs and commoners, the former frequently 
using as many as sixty layers, the upper ten of which bemg 
of the finest quality and covered with a counterpane woven 
from a fine rush called makaloa. These makaloa mats were 
frequently ornamented (pawehe) with an inwrought pattern 
of maiden hair fern stalks. The Hawaiians were not much 
given to ornamentation in matmaking, although frequently 
their crumb-cloths were platted with serrated edges. 

In and about the courts of some chiefs the grounds between 
the main and outhouses were at times covered with mats 
made of green lauhala of the natural width. 

The sails for canoes were platted from the young leaves 
of the pandanus, which were much more pliable than the 

older ones. , , j ^t. 

All the labor of collecting the leaves devolved on the 
women, and many good housewives kept rolls of these m store 
against such time as they were wanted. The men did all the 
collecting of pili grass, etc., for house building and attended 
to the agricultural work and fishing. 

Among the ancient Hawaiians the art of weaving was em- 
ployed more in the making of dom^estic utensils and house- 
furnishings than of clothing, as the latter was made from the 
felted bark of the paper-mulberry (wauke) and several other 
plants and trees. The most important utensils were baskets 
and containers, of which they had many forms and which 
were adapted to a great variety of uses. Baskets used as con- 
tainers were generally braided of lauhala and were more 
closely woven than f^sh-traps. Tough, wiry fern growths, 
or the ieie were generally used in making the latter, some of 
which were of giant proportions and funnel-shaped. 

The fiber of the olona was much prized by the natives and 
was the material from which all their fish lines and nets 
were made. Some of the latter were of mammoth size, 
twenty fathoms in length by two in depth, floats of carved 
wiliwili (Hawaiian cork), and sinkers of carved stone being 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazvaii. 193 

attached. The labor of making these involved months of ap- 
plication. The work of spinning or twisting this fiber, which 
was done by rolling or twisting it on the thigh, devolved on 
the women, and was one of the arts taught from childhood. 

In an insular country like Hawaii the inhabitants were 
much dependent on the sea and its fauna and flora for a live- 
lihood, and they became adept fishermen. Their baskets for 
collecting the edible sea-weeds, of which they were acquaint- 
ed with a great variety, were numerous and woven of many 
materials. , 

I have said that but little use was made of the weaver s 
art for the making of clothing. To this there is an exception, 
as all the females wore pa-us made of woven leaves, prob- 
ably an heirloom, from Mother Eve. Also the helmets and 
feather cloaks of the chiefs were made by weaving the feathers 
of the oo, mamo, and iiwi into a netted base of twisted olona 
fiber forming a perfectly smooth surface. This was the acme 
of the weaver's art and the infinitude of labor in collecting 
the material and completing the garment caused these articles 
to be very highly prized. Beautiful wreaths (leis) were also 
made of these bright-colored rare feathers, and with amulets 
and necklaces of shells were the sole ornaments to which the 
women were addicted. 

The only footwear of the Hawaiians were sandals woven 
of tough grass and leaves, at the making of which they were 
very adeot. In a volcanic country, especially in the regions 
of aa flows, the necessity for them was apparent. I have been 
told that after horses began to multiply it was not unusual 
to see the roads over some of those flows thatched for miles 
to protect their unshod feet. 

Necessity is the mother of invention, and probably the ab- 
sence of m^etals compelled the use of the plethora of fibrous 
materials which the forests afforded. Their stone axes, niade 
of flint or some of the better volcanic rocks, were bound to 
the handles by tough cords, and there were many forms of 
slings for carrying" heavy weights. An army was always 
accomnanied with a body of men carrying the food supplies, 
which "they did by means of sticks (mamaka) carried on the 
shoulders. One of the objections to Captain Cook was the 
great hardshio his long stay at Kealakekua imposed on these 
burden-bearers, who had to carry all the foodstuffs from 
Waipio and Hamakua, nearly a hundred miles, much of it 
across aa flows. 



CHAPTER XLVI 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SUGAR INDUSTRY OF THE HAWAIIAN 
ISLANDS — SUGAR CANE INDIGENOUS TO THE SOIL. 

THE author believes that a brief history of the sugar in- 
dustry on the Hawaiian Islands would be of interest to 
the reader, and although he dislikes statistics, the ex- 
ports are quoted, as they show at a glance the steady growth 
fromi zero to the immense proportions they have reached at 
the present writing. 

Sugar cane was indigenous to the islands, i. e., as far as 
traditions reach back, it had been one of the foodstuffs cul- 
tivated. It is said to have been brought from the South Seas 
with the earliest immigrations, although the natives of the 
Society Islands always have said that their best cane, vaihi, 
was brought from Hawaii. It is one of the grasses which 
grows continuously from the same root, tradition in one 
place reciting that it had been known to grow for a hundred 
years and gave promise of reproducing itself for another 
hundred. 

The natives were always fond of it, and attribute their 
good teeth to its cleaning properties. It was one of the 
herbs administered by their kahunas or doctors in certain 
complaints. Long before an infant was old enough to mas- 
ticate the stalk, mothers would crush it for them and feed 
them from mouth to mouth. 

Enough credit has not been given to the aborigines of the 
islands for their knowledge of horticulture and agriculture 
by writers or the early missionaries, but the first white men 
who settled among themi did observe that they recognized 
the difference in a number of kinds of taro, sweet potatoes 
and sugar canes, which to a casual observer would not be 
noticed. 

Of course, until the white man came with his iron vessels, 
no use of sugar cane was made farther than as food and medi- 
cine. Of late years research has been made as to the earliest 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hazuaii. 195 

foreigners who attempted to make a marketable product of the 
juice of the cane. 

Mr. L. L. Torbert, whom the author knew well, read a 
paper before the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society in 
1852, in which he stated that the earliest sugar manufactured 
on the islands was in 1802 by a Chinaman, on the Island of 
Lanai, who came in one of the sandalwood trading vessels 
and who brought with him a stone mill and boilers ; but 
having located at what proved to be a place indifferently sup- 
plied with water, his venture proved a failure. He returned, 
taking his apparatus with him. Mr. Torbert gave as his 
authority for this statement, John White, who was his father- 
in-law, and who had landed on the islands in 1797, and who 
attached himself to Kam.ehameha I. and traveled over the 
group in his retinue. The author learned the same facts from 
another source, and read it also in an English magazine pub- 
lished in 1827. 

Don Paulo Marin, who also arrived in the eighteenth cen- 
tury, and lived on the islands for a great many years, states 
that he made sugar in Honolulu in 1819. It is recorded that 
an Italian, Lavinia, made sugar in Honolulu in 1823, the 
cane for which was mashed by stone pestles on koa poi 
boards, the juice being boiled in copper kettles. 

Antone Catalina, a Portuguese, made an excellent syrup 
at Waikapu, Maui, about the same time; and a Chinaman 
named Hing Tai also established a sugar mill at Wailuku, 
which mill, a crude stone affair, the author has often seen. 
An Englishman, John Williamson, began the cultivation of 
sugar on a large scale in 1825, planting 100 acres in Manoa 
Valley, Oahu, but as he died in 1827, the cultivation was kept 
up for but one crop thereafter. 

The first establishment, however, of sugar cultivation 
where the parties had ample m^ans and could go into the 
business systematically, was at Koloa, Kauai, which planta- 
tion was begun in 1835. Upright modern rollers, probably 
home-made, were used, and the cane fed in by hand. The 
juice was boiled in open pots, and the product was very in- 
different. 

In several places on the islands small plantations were 
started with varying success ; and probably the whole product 
was consumed at home, as no mention is made of any being 
exported until 1837. 



196 



The Master Planter; or 



To show the mammoth proportions the industry has 
reached, the annual exports are quoted: 

\r^„. Sugar Molasses 

^^^^ lbs. gallons 

1874 24,55"6,611 90,060 

1875 25,080,182 93,722 

1876 26,072,429 130,073 

1877 25,575,965 151,462 

1878 38,431,458 93,136 

1879 49,020,972 87,475 

1880 63,584,871 198,355 

1881 93,789,483 263,587 

1882 114,177,938 221,293 

1883 114,107,155 193,997 

1884 142,654,923 110,530 

1885 171,350,314 57,941 

1886 216,223,615 113,137 

1887 212,763,647 71,222 

1888 235,883,346 47,965 

1889 242,165,835 54,612 

1890 259,789,462 74,926 

1891 274,983,580 55,845 

1892 263,636,715 47,988 

1893 330,822,879 67,282 

1894 306,684,993 72,979 

1895 294,784,819 44,970 

1896 443,569,282 15,885 

1897 520,158,232 33,770 

1898 444,963,036 14,537 

1899 545,370,537 11,455 

1900 344,531,173 120 

1901 690,822,132 93,820 

1902 720,553,357 48,036 

1903 774,825,420 10 

1904 736,491,992 11,187 

1905 832,721,637 26,777 

1906 746,602,637 3,180 

1907 822,014,811 6,917 

1908 1,077,570,637 23 

1909 1,022,863,927 728 



Year 


Sugar 
lbs. 


Molasses 
gallons 


1837 


4,276 


2,700 


1838.... 


88,543 


11,500 


1839.... 


100,000 


75,000 


1840 


360,000 


31,739 


1841 


60,000 


6,000 


1842 






1843.... 


1,145,010 


64,320 


1844.... 


513,684 


27,026 


1845.... 


302,114 


19,353 


1846.... 


300,000 


16,000 


1847.... 


594,816 


17,928 


1848.... 


499,533 


28,978 


1849 


653,820 


41,235 


1850 


750,238 


129,432 


1851 


21,030 


43,742 


1852.... 


699,170 


62,030 


1853.... 


642,746 


75,769 


1854.... 


575,777 


68,372 


1855.... 


289,908 


38,304 


1856.... 


554,805 


58,842 


1857.... 


700,556 


48,486 


1858 


1,204,061 


75,181 


1859 


1,826,620 


87,512 


1860 


1,444,271 


108,613 


1861 


2,562,498 


128,259 


1862.... 


3,005,603 


130,445 


1863.... 


5,292,121 


114,413 


1864.... 


. . 10,414,441 


340,436 


1865.... 


. . 15.318,497 


542,819 


1866 


. 17,729,161 


851,795 


1867 


. . 17,127,187 


544,994 


1868 


. . 18,312,926 


492,839 


1869 


. . 18,302,110 


338,311 


1870 


. . 18,783,639 


216,662 


1871.... 


. . 21,760,773 


271,291 


1872.... 


. . 16,995,402 


192,105 


1873.... 


. . 23,129,101 


146,459 



Life in the Cane Fields of Hawaii. 197 

L'ENVOI. 
By Leverett H. Mesick. 



All things must come to a halt — it were well they did not 
overstay their time. The hero of "The Master Planter" has 
now little need of further chronicling here. He has become 
so firmly established in the life of Hawaii, socially and in- 
dustrially, that the daily history of the Island Territory is 
but a recount, in some phase, of himi and his. For decades 
sugar-producing has been the industrial life-blood of the 
Islands, and, while other industries have come to the fore of 
late that may create "The Pineapple King," or "The Sisal 
Sovereign," or "The Tobacco Plutocrat," or "The Coffee 
Captain" in some of the nearby days, still the sugar cane 
fields are the mainstay, directly or indirectly, of a majority 
of the people here. 

And still other great things are in store for Hawaii. After 
many years of talk and argument and citation by keen- 
visioned individuals, the United States Government has be- 
come convinced that Hawaii can and must be made the most 
strategic military post in the world. And acting upon this 
conviction, at this writing, fall of 1910, work is well under 
way for the impregnable fortification of the Island of Oahu, 
and the building at Pearl Lochs of an immense drydock and 
naval works, which will be the largest plant of the kind in 
the world. The Island of Oahu will be a great naval and 
military base, for, besides ships of war and defensive forts, 
there will be an acclimatization station here, where many 
thousands of soldiers will be seasoned for work in any part of 
the tropics to which United States troops may be sent. And 
then the opening of the great Panama Canal will bring Ha- 
waii into focus as an indispensable rest and supply station 
for the ever-increasing trans-Pacific travel and traffic 

And now, dear reader, have you guessed who Breed, alias 
"Kansas," really is? for you must be aware that the name 
Breed does not occur in the Directory of the Hawaiian Islands, 
much less in the list of men who have been prominent in the 
development of the sugar industry. No keener, broader- 
minded, more honorable or helpful men have ever favored 
any community than the cane planters and sugar makers and 



198 The Master Planter. 



their scientific aides of Hawaii. At first thought some prom- 
inent plantation manager may be selected as the hero of 
this story, and again another individual, and yet another may 
be suggested. And these suggestions are all correct, for the 
man who did so much for the development of Hawaii is a 
composite character. 

FINIS. 



